Swallowed Sugar Packet Paper. Drank Water. Concerned?

Posted on Mon, 17 Jun 2013

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

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 Answered on

Mon, 8 Jul 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I accidentally swallowed a small piece of sugar packet paper in my coffee. at first it didn't go down but then I drank water an it did go down - now I am eating cereal to push through- do I need to be concerned

really thought I would get an answer immediately would appreciate an answer now -thank you

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (10 minutes later)

Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic

It is not likely to cause you any harm. It will be emitted via the stool because your body will not be able to digest it.

It is possible that you may feel slight abdominal discomfort but some persons feel no problems at all with the ingestion of foreign objects such as paper. If it were an object that had the potential to tear or abrade the esophagus, stomach or other aspects of the gastrointestinal tract then it would be of greater concern.

The packet is unlikely to contain any chemical agents that can cause disruption of the gastrointestinal tract or any other system.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

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

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (16 minutes later)

Do u agree that since the packet was specifically to contain food that is the sugar I would assume that it is non toxic and I can just go about the rest of my day. I am consciously drinking more water along with oatmeal to push thru. Thank u

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (14 minutes later)

Hi

Yes I agree, it is highly unlikely to be toxic. For this reason it is unlikely that the packet would do any harm. You may or may not notice it within the stool within a day or 2.

You should be fine

Please feel free to ask anything else

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