Since the start of 2026, 15 children in Almaty have been admitted to hospital after swallowing magnets. In one case, doctors removed 59 magnets from the small intestine of a child who was under 4 years old.
WHAT IS KNOWN
According to the Almaty City Akimat, since the start of 2026, 15 children have been admitted to the Centre for Emergency Paediatric Care after swallowing magnets.
During a single duty shift, three young patients were admitted to the emergency department, all requiring urgent surgery.
The first child was 2 years old. He was admitted with abdominal pain, and examination revealed foreign bodies. During surgery, surgeons removed 25 magnets.
A few hours later, a second child aged 2.5 years was brought to hospital with vomiting and abdominal pain. After examination, he also underwent emergency surgery. Doctors removed 9 magnets, after which the child spent 10 days in hospital.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE THIRD CHILD
The third patient was admitted during the same shift on 1 August. The child was under 4 years old. He complained of severe abdominal pain, weakness and vomiting.
According to Aibol Sultanbekov, a surgeon in the emergency department of the Almaty Centre for Emergency Paediatric Care, examination revealed multiple foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract.
During surgery, doctors removed 59 magnets from the small intestine. By the time medical help was sought, the dangerous objects had already perforated the walls of the small intestine.
WHY SWALLOWING MAGNETS IS DANGEROUS
Several magnets inside the body can attract each other and lead to serious complications. Doctors have urged parents not to leave magnetic balls or similar toys within reach of young children and to carefully monitor what they play with.
CONTEXT
In the first half of 2026, preventive medical check-ups were completed for 2.3 million children. Various diseases were detected in 242,000 children, or 11% of those examined.
The most common conditions were tooth decay, anaemia and myopia.
