Sometimes when you are chewing gum and talking at the same time, it becomes inevitable to swallow the little piece of rubber. And the scariest part is that an old wives tale says “Swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years.” But needless to worry, the old wives’ tale is just a tale; swallowed gum is harmless according to PeopleHealth.org, a website that provides helpful health information for men. One thing though, it does take a longer time to digest gum than food. It is very rare that people go to a doctor because of gum swallowing. Swallowed gum does not become a problem unless it is swallowed with some other object like a coin or when a large mass or quantity of gum is swallowed in a short period of time. For example, there was a case of a young boy getting hospitalized for swallowing many pieces of gum. Another case was of a girl getting medical help for swallowing gum and four coins. The gum and coins had gotten stuck in her esophagus.

Hwang Dong-Hyun  ssams5@changwon.ac.kr

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