What Would Happen If You Swallowed Gum
If you swallow gum, your body can not digest it. But gum does not stay in your stomach so it does not cause any issues to your digestive system. But if you swallow a large amount of gum or many small pieces of gum it can block your digestive tract.
There is not much evidence that shows just how much chewing bubblegum is too much, but reported case studies suggest chewing bubblegum on a regular basis can, well, gum up your works.
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Doctors note that swallowing large amounts of gum all at once, or swallowing lots of smaller pieces over a short period, can cause – in rare cases – problems with the digestive system. Intestinal blockages may occur as a result of swallowing large amounts of gum, or chewing up the gum with other substances your body cannot process. Clogging occurs only when large amounts of gum are ingested over a short time period, or when the gum becomes entangled with other undigestible foods, such as sunflower seeds.
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In rare cases, swallowing a large amount of gum, or a lot of smaller pieces of gum, over a short period of time, may clog your digestive tract. If chewing bubblegum becomes a habit, it may lead to constipation, or it may even block the digestive tract (admittedly, these are the rare cases). In rare cases, you may experience a digestive blockage if you swallow large amounts of gum in a single sitting, or many pieces in a short amount of time. Registered dietitian Beth Cervony says that swallowing lots of gum in a short period — one piece every day for a week, for example, or one mega-wad of four pieces of gum at once — could endanger your digestive system.
If a kid swallows too much gum, or multiple smaller pieces, it could combine with other undigested foods to create an obstruction in the gut. According to Mayo Clinic, swallowing too much gum can result in an obstruction of the bowels in children, particularly if they are already experiencing constipation. When swallowed in large amounts, or along with other objects, gum can cause bowel obstructions in children.
When you swallow gum, your digestive system (which includes parts of your body such as your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine) treats the gum as it would any other food. Rest assured, Nothing happens in the stomach or gut when you swallow gum, says Dr. Lisa Ganjhu.
If you swallow, the gum travels down the digestive tract, leaving the body with waste. Also, even if you are chewing your gum without swallowing, it is possible that it could still have an adverse effect on your digestive system. While it is not true that chewing gum stays in your body for seven years, it is true that the synthetic part is not digestible.
Your parents might have warned you against chewing your chewing gum, as it would remain in your stomach for seven years. While you cannot completely digest chewing gum, it is not going to hang around your body nearly as long. As long as it does not get lumped into huge, multicolored balls of poop, gum passes through the system in less than a week.
The gum just moves right on out there, however, because our stomachs are masters at keeping the digestive train moving. The reason that lingers is that your stomach periodically dumps out contents in your small intestine, so if you ingest gum, it will move into the colon, where it will eventually be passed on through your stools, according to the Ohio State University.
At the end of the small intestine, whatever is left–we will call this simply poop–is transferred into the big intestine, aka the colon. From there, the small intestines force out the Gum, while digesting whatever sugars and nutrients are left. Your body cannot digest gum, but the chunk you swallow usually passes through your digestive system – mostly intact – and ends up in your feces after 40 hours, like just about anything else you have eaten.
Swallowing gum does not supply nutrients to your body, since the human body is not designed to digest it properly. Your parents are correct to warn you against chewing gum, although technically your bodys digestive system could handle a small amount of chewed gum for about as long as it takes it to process a meal. You do not have to worry so much about one piece of gum going down your throat, but you probably do want to avoid swallowing multiple pieces of the stuff in short order, combined with swallowing things as indigestible as seed shells. A digestive blockage is more likely if you ingest the gum at the same time that you ingest other items that cannot be digested, such as sunflower seed shells.
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Although a piece of chewed-up bubblegum must go through the childs digestive system the same way as an adult, younger children may swallow larger amounts of bubblegum, or even objects that may get stuck in bubblegum inside of their digestive tract. Young children, with their smaller digestive tracts, are most likely to swallow bubblegum – and other tiny objects, that can get combined with gum to make a bigger bubble. If a lot of sugarless gum is swallowed, nausea, diarrhea, and headaches can result.
Although the chewing gum is not digestible, its smooth, pliable texture and small size are a good fit for the human digestive tract, making problems a rarity. Sure, the gum can get stuck in shoes (or in hair, clothes, or couch fabric), but it does not get stuck to the walls of the stomach or digestive tract, as the urban legend suggests. While your body can PROCESS preservatives, flavors, sugars, and sweeteners, it cannot process gums core, Dr. McGreal points out.
Gum can harm you, even when you are doing all of the right thingsabut if youare still concerned, drink plenty of water, because the liquid should let gum pass through your digestive systemawithout any serious incidents,a says Dr. Vladimir M. Kusnir, a gastroenterologist and an associate professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Marcelo Leal, a pediatric gastroenterologist and hepatologist, explains that gum shouldnat stick in your stomach aunless thereas a reason it does, like you ingested too much of it without giving your body time to digest or thereas aunrelated gut problem. Regardless of your age, if you are swallowing excessive amounts of chewing gum on a regular basis, researchers from Healthline say that you are putting yourself at risk of abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, chronic constipation, and oral ulcers.
How long does chewing gum take to decompose?
On the other hand, chewing gum contains 80% plastic. Even though it may seem like a modest amount, experts estimate that it would take five years for it to go, and it now contains one of the waste products that animals frequently mistake for food.
Why shouldn’t you swallow gum?
Large gum use has been linked to intestinal obstructions, especially in youngsters, according to research. This can occur if a lot of gum is swallowed all at once or if it is swallowed repeatedly. It may clump together into a big, inedible mass known as a bezoar as a result of doing so.
What happens if you eat glue?
Even though old-fashioned white glue is made with a petroleum-based polymer, it can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting from severe glue poisoning because the gastrointestinal tract (from the stomach to the intestines) may get blocked.