This is one trend that really should not be encouraged.
Every year, a surprising number of people end up in emergency rooms after putting objects into their rectum that were never meant to be there. Whether it comes from curiosity, questionable internet advice, or sexual experimentation, the result is often painful, embarrassing, and very medical.
What many people do not realize is that these incidents are quietly documented. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission maintains an anonymous database that records emergency room visits and the items involved. That means there is an official record of countless patients insisting that something simply slipped or that they fell on it by accident.
Because the database does not include names, those involved can at least take comfort in knowing their identity is protected. Even so, the details are unforgettable. Media outlet Defector reviewed the most recent 2024 data and highlighted some of the strangest and most uncomfortable objects doctors were asked to remove from people’s bodies.
Alongside a large number of sex toys, including one that measured two feet long, the list included an astonishing variety of everyday items. Doctors reported removing nails, screws, a baseball inserted out of curiosity, uncooked pasta, eggs, dog chew toys, dryer sheets, sandals, doorknobs, marbles, eyeglasses, rocks, and even beard clippers wrapped in plastic after someone attempted to treat constipation.
Other items included turkey basters, shampoo bottles with explanations ranging from boredom to shower accidents, lubricant containers, enemas, aerosol cans, dental picks, wine stoppers, corn cob holders, markers, pencils, flashlights, batteries, coat hangers altered so the patient could still drive to the hospital, light bulbs, vape pens, pipes, toothbrushes, batons, hair ties, and coins. In several cases, people were not even sure whether a sex toy was still inside them or could not remember inserting it at all.
Emergency room doctors say these cases are more common than people think. One Chicago physician, Dr Kenji Oyasu, has gone viral for discussing the strangest objects he has encountered. At the top of his list was a full sized scented candle in a glass jar that had been completely inserted. He explained that removing large objects is difficult because suction creates a vacuum effect that pulls the item further in.
Medical journals have documented similar incidents around the world. One case study described a man who required surgery after a deodorant canister traveled up his digestive tract. In another recent case, police in Florida discovered a thermos inside a man during a body scan after an arrest.
Despite how shocking these stories are, they remain relatively uncommon overall. From 2012 to 2021, roughly thirty nine thousand people per year in the United States were hospitalized due to foreign objects in the rectum. The average patient was forty three years old, the majority were male, and about forty percent required admission to the hospital. More than half of the objects removed were sex toys.
Unfortunately, this issue is not limited to one part of the body. Similar databases and reports show that people also insert dangerous objects into their vaginas and penises, creating serious health risks.
Doctors agree on one point. If something does not have a base, a safety design, or a medical purpose, it does not belong there.
