Every year, hospitals across the United States handle a significant number of emergency cases where patients have foreign objects stuck in their rectums. This clinical information, recorded without patient names, is fed into a national injury tracking system. The data for 2025 has once again highlighted a long and surprising list of items that were never meant to be inserted, appearing with what doctors call an uncomfortable regularity.
How This Sensitive Medical Data is Collected and Tracked
The records originate from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which manages the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Participating hospitals send anonymised reports explaining why patients visit their emergency departments, and these include incidents involving rectal foreign bodies. For years, medical researchers have studied this data. A major review published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine estimated that between 2012 and 2021, approximately 39,000 people were hospitalised annually in the US for this reason. The study found most patients were middle-aged men, and over half of the cases involved sex toys. The rest involved everyday objects never designed for such use.
Why Doctors Urge Against DIY Removal Attempts
Emergency room physicians consistently report that many situations become far more severe because patients try to solve the problem themselves before seeking professional medical help. Scans and X-rays often reveal secondary objects like tweezers, coat hangers, or other improvised tools that were used in failed extraction attempts. Clinicians warn that these efforts significantly raise the risk of internal tears, serious bleeding, and dangerous infections. The advice repeated in numerous case studies is clear and straightforward: seeking early medical intervention is always safer than risky improvisation.
The 2025 List: From Turkey Basters to Magic Wands
Based on emergency room reports from the federal database reviewed by journalists, doctors documented removing the following non-sex-toy items in 2025:
- Screws and nails
- A dog chew toy
- Beard clippers wrapped in plastic (cited as constipation relief)
- A baton and a turkey baster
- A shampoo bottle (listed multiple times)
- A dental pick and a wine stopper
- A corn cob holder and a highlighter
- A magic wand toy and marbles
- A film canister and a sandal
- A doorknob
- A lightbulb, inserted glass-side first and trapped by suction
- A flashlight and a vape pen
- Two pencils and a corn-cob style pipe
- Uncooked pasta and a piece of a nose-hair trimmer
- A pair of glasses, an egg, and a rectangular travel toothbrush holder
Medical professionals note that objects without a flared base are especially prone to getting stuck, as a vacuum-like suction can form once the item moves beyond reach.
The Medical Perspective: Surveillance, Not Shame
Healthcare providers emphasise that this documentation is not for shaming patients. These cases are recorded for injury surveillance and public health prevention. The guidance that follows is practical, not moral: avoid inserting objects not designed for the purpose, and never try to remove them with additional tools. When a patient arrives at the ER, the details become part of routine clinical reporting. This data is anonymised, permanent, and forms another entry in a system that tracks the real, often unexpected, ways people end up needing urgent medical care.
