A young girl in China was brought to the Zhejiang Zhuji City People’s Hospital after complaining about abdominal pain and experiencing constipation for several days. The 14-year-old girl also experienced swelling in her stomach.
A report from the Chinese news site The Paper revealed a scan of the girl’s abdominal area.
In the scan, many small, circular objects can be seen that filled her organs – from her stomach to her colon and her anus.
Photo from: The Paper
When her physician, Zhang Lou Wei, asked her what she consumed, she said that she had bubble tea five days ago.
Her physician suspects that the circular objects from the scan may have been pearls. However, the doctor believes that with the amount seen in the scan, they are pearls that accumulated over time due to the regular intake of the drink.
Laxative was prescribed to the patient.
Yu Ling, head of the Zhuji City People’s Hospital’s emergency department, said that tapioca pearls can be difficult to digest.
Additionally, some manufacturers might put in some additives and thickeners to make the pearls chewier. However, this can be detrimental to a person’s digestive system when consumed in large quantities.
Another possibility: Heavy metal poisoning
Still, they did not end up into a conclusion that bubble tea pearls are the only cause of her gastrointestinal problem.
In a WeChat screenshot on The Paper, a user purported that the scans revealed traces of heavy metal accumulated within the girl’s body.
More investigation is needed to determine whether this is a case of having too much bubble tea pearls or heavy metal poisoning.
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