Had Swallowed Quarter Coin Accidentally. Should I Be Worried?

Posted on Sun, 17 Nov 2013

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

Sun, 17 Nov 2013 Answered on

Sat, 14 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : A 32 year old female does not know if she swallowed a U.S. quarter coin or not. She will NOT go to the doctor. The possible swallowing of the quarter occurred 5 days ago and she feels fine with no symptoms and no problems. What should we do and what are the possible symptoms?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Klerida Shehu (7 hours later)

Brief Answer: Please refer to the suggestions below.. Detailed Answer: Hi, Usually, with such dimensions of the coins, the patient can stay at home. If the size is less than 2 cm, then, I'd strongly suggest to go to the ER. Meanwhile, as she does not want to go to hospital, advise her that in case she will have severe abdominal pain, she should go immediately to the ER. To assure she is fine, I'd suggest to consult a GI specialist and to do X-ray of the abdomen to see if the coin is still there. If yes, and is stucked, then, I suggest to go for endoscopy to get it off. I also advise to eat well to get the bowel in movement and get the coin off naturally. Hope it answered to your inquiries! If you have more questions, feel free to ask in the next follow up. Dr.Klerida

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E