Foreign bodies may be swallowed for a variety of reasons.
Ingestion of a foreign body may be:
(1) intentional
(2) accidental
Reasons for intentional swallowing of foreign bodies:
(1) small children
(2) mentally retarded
(3) mentally ill
(4) manipulative (trying to avoid an unpleasant situation, as in prison)
Reasons for accidental swallowing:
(1) carelessness
(2) rapidly eating (bolting down food)
(3) intoxication
(4) wearing dentures
(5) numbing the roof of the mouth (palate surface) by drinking very cold drinks, drugs or other causes
(6) caught off guard (surprised, startled, slapped on the back, etc.)
(7) dementia
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Specialty: Gastroenterology, Pedatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery, general