Her daughter swallowed a metal bushing that popped out of the toy, and needed emergency surgery to have it removed.
Fidget spinners are the “it” toy right now, especially among primary-school kids and people of all ages who have anxiety, autism, or ADHD. But a mom in Texas is warning parents about a potential danger, after her daughter nearly choked on a metal bushing and needed emergency surgery to remove it.
She’s not the first caregiver to issue a warning about the potential choking hazard of fidget spinners, either. Earlier this month, Georgia resident Teresa Kesterson told a local television station that her 3-year-old grandson had been playing with a fidget spinner—also while riding in the car—when the toy came apart in his hands, leaving him holding tiny pieces including a light-up battery.
When used as directed, fidget spinners can have benefits for people with higher-than-average energy levels, anxiety, or extreme sensitivity to certain environments, Pilar Trelles, MD, a psychiatrist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, recently told Health. For people who tend to bite their nails, pull out their cuticles, or pinch their skin, for example, fidget spinners can offer a less harmful way to expend that nervous energy.