Delhi: 26-Year-Old Man Gulps Down 39 Coins, 37 Magnets to get zinc for Body-Building

The man came to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital with complains of vomiting and severe abdominal pain. He has a history of psychiatric illness and a habit of swallowing coins and magnets, believing zinc will help in body-building.

New Delhi:Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital doctors took out 39 coins and 37 magnets from the intestine of a 26-year-old man, a patient of psychiatric illness, by surgery. The man had swallowed the coins and magnets under the belief that zinc will aid in body-building.

The coins are of Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5 denominations while the magnets are of various shapes. The man had been admitted to the hospital with vomitting and abdominal pain. He was also not being able to eat anything due to the intense pain.

Dr. Tarun Mittal, laparoscopic surgeon of the hospital, said that the patient's CT scan showed that the intestines were being blocked by several particles that appeared like coins and magnets and doctors decided to perform a surgery immediately.

During the surgery, doctors found the coins and magnets were in two loops inside the intestines. The magnetic force pulled the two loops together and eroded them. The coins and magnets were extracted from the intestines. Then, the patient's stomach was inspected where too several coins and magnets were found. These were also removed.

The patient's relatives said that he is undergoing treatment for psychiatric illness and has a habit of consuming coins. After he complained of pain for more than two weeks he was taken to the Sir Gangaram Hospital, a relative said.

"A post-operation scan revealed that intestinal tract and the stomach were freed of all the coins and magnets. The patient was discharged seven days after the surgery," Dr Mittal said.

According to doctors, the patient told them that he had read somewhere about zinc helping in body-building. The patient said that he swallowed the coins as it contains zinc and ingested the magnets to retain the coins by magnetic force inside the stomach and thereby help in zinc absorption.

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