Accidentally Swallowed Tissue. Treatment?

Posted on Sat, 30 Apr 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 Answered on

Sat, 19 May 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : It's a really silly one. I accidentally swallowed a tissue 2 days ago. What should I do?

Answered by Dr. Vidya Muralidhar (1 hour later)

Hi,

Thanks for your query.

Swallowing a tissue does not cause harm. Since it is a soft one and does not have any sharp edges, it will not cause any tear in the food pipe. The tissue fibres are expected to pass down the food pipe and are excreted in stools. It is also not known to contain toxic substances and hence will not cause systemic side effects.

Rarely you may have episode of soft/loose stool due to the presence of fibre in the tissue which will settle on its own, but on the whole it will not cause a concerning problem

I feel there is nothing that you need to do on this. Stop worrying about it.

Hope this answers is reassuring. I am available for follow ups /clarifications if any..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar