I was flossing her teeth and she wanted to do it herself. She put it in her mouth and balled it up. I told her to spit it out immediately and she swallowed it! Should I call the Dr or will she likely poop it out? It was minty flavor maybe that is why she 'ate' it.
I just wanted to edit this to add that the piece was close to 15 inches, maybe a little shorter.
UPDATE: SHE POOPED IT OUT TODAY!
Once my daughter ate a 50 foot piece of floss. She pulled out all the floss from a pack wadded it up like gum, chewed it, and swallowed it.
I called the doctor and they said just let her pass it naturally. If a child ate a long piece of floss then I would not "pull" it out from their behind, but rather trim it with scissors and let them pass it in stages, but if it's a short piece then I wouldn't worry about it at all.
The "do it myself" things gets kids into all kinds of trouble doesn't it. =)
I agree that it should be fine.
although i think it will pass, i would still call the doc, just to make sure. god forbid something happened, i would never forgive myself for not making a quick call.
aside from that, i always remember my vet telling me with my cat to be careful about tinsel and string. he said sometimes he had patients where it got caught in the intenstine and pulled it shut like an accordian ending up needing surgery. im sure the cat swallowed it inch by inch, not in a ball, but rather be safe. good luck
Any time there is a question about if something will harm your child, I would era on the side of caution and call the pediatrician. What we all do as parents for our own children may not necessarily be the correct thing. Although your daugher should be okay, you never know.
My guess is she will poop it out, but I would call the doc just to be sure. What kids will do huh?
Good luck.
She will totally poop it out! I guess if you feel like it was a really long strand you could call the doc. but my husband changed our sons poopy diaper (23 months) last week and actually pulled about 6" of floss out of his bottom, I guess the end was hanging out. I don't even know where he got it from, we have regular floss in the house but I use the floss sticks for the kids. But it came out with no probs!
I would wait a couple of days and see if she passes it. If she starts getting sick...vomiting, stomach pain, loss of appetite, fever...take her to ER. I also recommend Firefly Kid Flossers. They come in bright colors and they do not have the sharp point on the end, like some of the other plastic flossers.
