Doctors swallow Lego for science

Pediatricians around the world are faced with situations in which children have ingested toys and parts of their toys. Bricks and Lego heads are common objects that tiny toddlers often put in their mouths and swallow.

A team of six doctors decided to see how long it took for a Lego's head to be excreted from the body by swallowing them.

The results of this first-hand experience were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The team led by researcher Andrew Tagg of the University of Melbourne swallowed small yellow Lego heads, and then monitored their stool over the next few days to see if the toy was coming out of the body in the excrement.

The authors of the study, full of humor, wrote: "The habit of consuming bowel before ingestion was standardized by the SHAT score (Stool Hardness and Transit).

Participants ingested a Lego head and the time taken for the object to be in the participant's stool was recorded. The main result was the time score found and retrieved (FART). "

They noted that the Lego toy took very little time to pass through the bowels. The average time required for the toy to be excreted was 1.71 days, they wrote. There was no complication in any of the participants.

The authors write that this means that the toy is harmless to the intestine and does not affect the digestive tract.

Only one of the male doctors failed to find the toy in his shit, as the study authors wrote: "Women may be more able to look in their stools than men ", although this statement can not be" statistically proven ". tongue in the cheek.

The team adds a warning: most things that children swallow tend to leave the intestine in a few days without causing any damage. However, not all toys can pass in this way and some can be dangerous. The study urges parents to remain vigilant about what their children have put in their mouths.