A woman has revealed she is “lucky to be alive” after accidentally swallowing a 20cm toothbrush while on holiday, leaving her terrified of brushing her teeth.
In July, Amber Hunt, 38, was on holiday in Croatia visiting her in-laws with her husband Amir Devark, 41, and their two children, aged eight and one, when she felt the tool go down her throat.
The Ohio mother of two was brushing the back of her mouth when the 8-inch toothbrush slipped from her fingers and down her throat.
She tried to grab the toothbrush but was unsuccessful and began to panic, prompting her husband to rush her to the hospital to have it removed by experts.
Now, Amber recalls the incident that left her “scared” to use the oral hygiene product again.
Amber Hunt, 38, has revealed she is “lucky to be alive” after accidentally swallowing a 20cm toothbrush while on holiday, leaving her terrified of brushing her teeth.
When the mother arrived at the hospital, doctors “didn’t believe” she had a toothbrush in her stomach and performed an upper endoscopy.
When she arrived, she explained what had happened and doctors performed an ultrasound, but Amber says they couldn’t see the toothbrush at first.
She said: ‘They didn’t believe me because they couldn’t see the toothbrush. They were calling my father-in-law to check the bathroom and make sure I hadn’t thrown it away.
“We went home in the afternoon and came back the next day. They did an upper endoscopy and found the toothbrush in my stomach, so they transferred me to another hospital.”
A doctor was unable to remove the toothbrush, so Amber was taken to KBC Split Hospital in Split, Croatia, for a 45-minute procedure to remove it.
Doctors placed a rope around a camera, inserted it down her throat, and used it to grab the toothbrush and pull it out of Amber’s throat, all while Amber was awake.
Amber said: ‘I’m happy to be alive, I’m worried about using a toothbrush again. I have to be very careful, I do it slowly and make sure my hands are dry so it doesn’t slip.
“It was very scary, it shocked my family. It didn’t ruin my holiday, but it would have if something serious had happened.”
She was on holiday in Croatia visiting her in-laws with her husband, Amir Devark, 41, and their two children when she felt the tool going down her throat.
The Ohio mother of two was brushing the back of her mouth when the 8-inch toothbrush slipped from her fingers and down her throat.
Amber said: ‘Luckily I didn’t choke and it went all the way to my stomach.
“When I swallowed it, I felt like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to die.’ I kept swallowing, I knew I could still breathe. I kept trying to grab it, but I couldn’t.
“I have muscle spasms, my throat gets stretched every few months, so I think that’s why it didn’t get stuck.”
The mother revealed she is lucky to be alive and said she is now ‘careful’ about using a toothbrush.