Swallowing a piece of gum is usually harmless. While your digestive system can’t break down the gum’s chewy base, the common belief that swallowed gum stays in your system for seven years is just a myth. Gum usually passes through your body within a few days, and then you pass it in your stool.
Be careful not to swallow large amounts of gum, though, which can sometimes cause abdominal pain or, in rare cases, intestinal blockage.
Gum contains ingredients that your body can’t break down the way it breaks down food. The gum base, which gives gum its chewy texture, is made of natural and synthetic materials like resins, waxes, and tree sap. These substances are nondigestible, which means your stomach and intestines can’t break them down.
Your body can digest other ingredients in gum, like sweeteners and flavorings. These components break down while the gum base moves through your digestive system with the rest of the food you eat until it leaves your body in a bowel movement.
Swallowing an occasional piece of gum is not harmful. But swallowing a large amount at once, or many small pieces over a short period of time, can sometimes lead to an intestinal blockage. An intestinal blockage, or bowel obstruction, happens when something clogs part of your digestive tract.
Swallowing gum every once in a while is not likely to cause problems. Certain risks can occur if you swallow a large amount of gum or do so often:
- Airway obstruction: Swallowing gum may increase the risk of it getting stuck in your throat, where it can block the flow of air into your lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, choking, cyanosis (bluish-tinted skin), and loss of consciousness.
- Bowel obstruction: Swallowing a large mass of gum, or several pieces in a short time, can sometimes cause a blockage in the intestines. This can lead to abdominal pain or cramping, bloating, loud bowel sounds, inability to pass gas, constipation, nausea, or vomiting.
- Overdose of medicinal gum: Specialty gums, such as nicotine gum, contain active medicinal ingredients. Swallowing several pieces can expose you to higher doses than intended, which may cause poisoning and side effects like abdominal cramps, weakness, rapid breathing, muscle twitching, heart palpitations, and more.
Swallowing one piece of gum poses almost no risk to your health. In most cases, the gum will pass through your digestive system without causing harm. If you swallowed a large amount of gum or frequently swallow gum, contact a doctor if you also develop any of the following symptoms:
- Ongoing stomach pain or cramping
- Severe bloating or swelling in your abdomen
- Constipation that lasts more than a few days
- Nausea or vomiting that does not improve
These symptoms can be a sign of intestinal blockage, a medical emergency that requires prompt treatment.
