Medical Must-See: A drink of superabsorbent beads leads to troubled waters

Orbeez beads can swell to 200 times their orginal size.
Sarah Simpkins

A bleary-eyed drink from a misplaced bottle of water landed a young man in ED after ingesting superabsorbent polymer beads, US doctors report.

The 19-year-old had inadvertently ingested hundreds of Orbeez beads, which are used to keep moisture in potted plants or as a children’s toy.