Parents issued warning over deadly pea-sized magnets found in toys after they were linked to at least seven deaths and thousands of hospital visits

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents about the dangers of high-powered, pea-sized magnets found in toys after several deaths have been link to their ingestion. 

The federal agency estimated that ingestion of the magnets led to at least seven deaths, and 2,400 hospital emergency room visits from 2017 to 2021. 

One company has recalled a set containing them after it became aware of their life-threatening materials. 

But at least five other companies that also sold the magnetic balls refused to recall their products - so the Commission is alerting consumers, a spokeswoman told The New York Times  

The hazardous magnets can kill children if two or more are swallowed as they can attract each other in the stomach, perforating intestinal walls, twisting and blocking intestines - which could lead to infection and blood poisoning.

Neodymium Magnetic Balls sold by XpressGoods, a North Carolina company, from July 2021 through May 2022 were recalled on Thursday. 

The company has offered full refunds for the Chinese-made product and directly contacted purchasers of the roughly 700 units it had sold.

Made from rare-earth metals, each ball measures five millimeters. The safety commission said the magnets were stronger than permitted by federal toy regulations. 

'Consumers should stop using the recalled magnetic balls immediately, (and) take them away from children,' the commission said in an online notice. 

The commission did not say who manufactures the balls.

In 2019, a Chinese boy reportedly nearly died after sticking 53 magnetic beads into his penis out of curiosity.

Then 14-year-old Jiang Hua inserted them into his urethra and thought he would be able to remove them himself.

After inserting them into his penis, he thought he could squeeze them out himself. But instead, they were being pushed further and further inside. 

In the process, he crammed more balls up there in a desperate attempt to draw them out with their magnetic force.

Local reports state his underwear was 'soaked with blood' the next day, forcing him to admit to his grandfather what he had done.

He was rushed to Wuhan Children's Hospital where doctors described him as pale, vomiting, dizzy and in shock.

They surgically removed the magnetic balls, which had clumped together in two strings and reportedly caused life-threatening hemorrhaging.

He was taken to the children's hospital at 11pm that night. Overnight, the hospital director and urologist Dr Wang Jun operated to remove the string of beads. He saved the teenager from a 'critical condition', local reports said at the time 

Another 12-year-old boy had balls removed from his bladder at the same hospital after inserting them into his penis two months before.

After being pulled aside by doctors, he admitted he had forced Buckyballs into his urethra while 'exploring his anatomy'. 

Doctors were faced with a challenge to remove the magnetic balls because they are slippery and can collect in a cluster. 

'Buckyballs' have been scrutinized for being a danger to children, causing death in some cases where they have been ingested.

'Buckyballs are magnetic, so they attract each other. They tend to slip when trying to grasp them, or they form a large ball-shaped cluster.

'It was very difficult to retrieve them. In the end, we removed all 31 by pumping his bladder with air.'

The medic noted that filling the young patient's bladder with air made it easier to locate and grasp the foreign bodies, and also avoided the need for a more invasive surgery.

Buckyballs are popular toys sold in the form of metal spheres, which can be stacked into any shape thanks to their magnetic properties.

They were banned in the US in 2012 after thousands of children ingested them, leaving some dead.

However, they were put back on the market after a leading company, Zen Magnets, appealed.

Dr Jun and colleagues urged parents to be wary of the toys and to teach teenagers about their bodies at the time. 

The department receives more than 10 cases of similar foreign bodies every year, the vast majority of which are adolescent children, and the majority of boys, according to reports.

Experts say that Buckyballs are more dangerous than other foreign objects - whether inserted in the genitals or eaten.

The balls are drawn to each other through different organs, which can cause perforations. In the intestine, this could lead to life-threatening.

Experts also warned this year to avoid putting some so-called 'smart toys' under the Christmas tree this year, after the publication of a 'Trouble in Toyland' report from the US PIRG Education Fund. 

Consumer protection experts say that microphones and cameras in the toys - as well as AI and personal data storage - are placing children's privacy at risk and heighten instances of grooming and even kidnapping. 

'Our children's holiday gift wish lists may be filled with stuffed animals that listen and talk, devices that learn their habits, games with online accounts, smart speakers and watches, or all kinds of toys that require you to download an app,' the report said. 

'All smart toys may pose a risk to children, depending on the specific toy, the age of the child, the child's technical skills and their capacity to understand what's OK and what's not.' 

As the range rapidly expands, the $17 billion smart toy industry is set to double by 2027. 

In an effort to protect children from a new wave of threats, report authors Teresa Murray and R.J. Cross advised parents to exercise caution over smart toy purchases. 

They warned against some games, including the popular app Roblox, the Meta virtual reality headset and, as a more traditional choking-hazard, water beads, which the report says 'can be deadly'.

The research comes after a series of incidents where toys placed children in danger. 

Last month, an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped on September 10 from Wayne by a man she met while playing Roblox online. 

Police say 27-year-old Darius Matylewich took the girl from her hometown after chatting on multiple gaming platforms. She was found safe a short time later, about 135 miles away from her home. 

Roblox software allows users to play a wide variety of games and chat with others online - it is one of the most popular mobile games this year. 

Roblox denied that the pair met on their game and said they 'take the safety of our users, particularly our youngest users, incredibly seriously' and are 'committed to providing a positive and safe experience for people of all ages'.