Depressed man swallows hundreds of coins and nails

Doctors in India were shocked to find hundreds of metal objects in a man's stomach after he was admitted into a hospital for severe stomach pain.

At Gagan Hospital, a variety of coins, nails, magnets and batteries were extracted from Rajpal Singh's distended stomach.

India Today reported that the 34-year-old man from Punjab had been experiencing stomach pain that medicine could not alleviate for the past two to three years. 

After studying the patient's X-rays, doctors at the hospital decided to conduct an endoscopy to assess his condition.

They were surprised to find a large deposit of metal objects in his stomach.

In two sessions on April 15 and 18, a team of 5 doctors removed a total of 275 foreign objects with the help of endoscopy.

One of the attending doctors Dr. Aman Sidhu estimated that another 80 coins and 200 nails remain in the patient's stomach.

The patient, whose body has been weakened by the procedures, would require another two sessions for the rest of the metal objects to be removed.

Mr Singh said: "I used to gulp down coins and metals with fruit juice or milk. Due to family problems I had slipped into depression and got hooked onto this weird habit."

According to Caters News, doctors told the man that the sharp nails would have killed him if they punctured his intestines.

After the close shave with death, Mr Singh said: "I am never going to do this again."

minlee@sph.com.sg