I think my 2 y/o son got in my purse and ate 2 pieces of gum while I was in the bathroom. I keep smelling this minty smell coming from his mouth but there is none stuck in his teeth or anything. Could it be that the smell is coming from these pieces that he ate? Is this going to harm him in some way? I've heard that gum takes a long time to digest but other than that, do I have anything to worry about? Please help me relax a little! Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure I have enough fingers and toes to count the number of pieces of gum I've swallowed since childhood. And I know a kid I grew up with who used to swallow his gum when he got tired of chewing it. I don't think you have anything to worry about--relax!!!

Well my son was banned from chewing gum for years because everytime I gave him a piece he chewed it for a very short time and the next thing I knew he had swallowed it. I kept telling him no more gum until he learned not to swallow it. He mentally knew he wasn't supposed to swallow it but he still wound up doing it for the longest time. No harm done although it is not something that should be taken lightly since it can cause obstruction on rare occasions.

Hello, I can really relate to this thread. My son swallowed one piece of gum one time, and my mother-in-law paniced due to the horrid stories of chewing gum causing obstructions in the intestings and bowel. My father always said, "It'll come out in your poop so don't worry about it," when I was small and accidently swallowed some. I just couldn't convince my mother-in-law. She had me call 911. Well, I called 911 with embarrassment in my voice and explained the situation. The woman on the other end was very nice and very knowledgable...and didn't laugh like I thought she would. She said she'd had calls like this before and said that there is nothing to worry about unless he swallowed 1-2 whole packs of chewing gum. She continued to tell me that 1 or 2 pieces is no problem and..."It'll come out in the poop." I know she's right, because my sister had a dog that liked to eat chewing gum and it used to string out his butt.

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Magpie

Eeeewwwww, Magpie!!!!!!!
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That's NNNaaasssttttyyyyy!


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