Do you have a habit of biting one safety pin in your mouth and stabbing another when you are in a hurry to go out somewhere? If yes, the doctors are raising warnings to change such habits as three cases were reported at the Kozhikode Medical College and Kozhikode Chest Hospital, for ball-headed pins used to secure clothing being swallowed and stuck in the airways of various people. All three accidents occurred when one pin was bitten and another pin stabbed. In the reported cases, two of the girls were 14 years old and the other was 13 years old. One of them was brought to the hospital on Tuesday morning.

With the opening of schools, the use of this ball-pointed pin with uniforms has become widespread. Doctors at Chest Hospital have warned that this is a dangerous situation that can lead to death if not done with utmost concentration. Two of the girls swallowed the ball-headed pin while talking. The other was laughing while biting the ball-headed pin which suddenly slipped into the throat.

Doctors say that if such accidents occur to children things become more complicated. Usually, the stuck pin is removed by endoscopic surgery under anesthesia. However, if it cannot be removed through endoscopy, surgery is the only option. Doctors say that if it gets stuck in a blood vessel or something else, it can be fatal.

If such pins are swallowed, they can cause problems such as coughing and spitting up blood, and patients are often hospitalised. There is an additional risk if the accidentally swallowed pin goes straight into the esophagus. Some other items that were found in similar swallowing cases include the top of a pen, pearls, nuts, and eyebrow pencil caps.

Experts say that this is a completely avoidable accident if we break the habit of biting and handling small objects. Doctors also point out that such accidents are more likely to occur during the morning rush to get ready for school.