Swallowing a mothball landed a toddler in hospital and a place on the list of medical firsts, after he developed an oesophageal stricture two weeks after it was successfully removed.

US doctors from the Florida State University College of Medicine reported the case of the 26-month-old boy who was airlifted to their hospital after swallowing the paradichlorobenzene-based mothball and developing respiratory distress.

On arrival at hospital he was pale and lethargic and only responded to painful stimuli.

A chest X-ray showed a foreign body on the oesophageal inlet with compressive effects on the trachea, the doctors reported in SAGE Open Medical Case Reports.