Cincinnati, OH -- Magnets and small children are a sticky combination according to a pediatric radiologist in Cincinnati.

Dr. Alan Oestreich is warning fellow radiologists to be on the lookout for kids who swallow more than one magnet.

He says when more than one magnet goes into the gut, doctors should consider performing surgery because the magnets can stick to each other through opposing intestinal walls, which can lead to obstruction, tissue death and perforation of the intestines.

Oestreich has voiced his concerns in a letter to the editor of the November issue of "Radiology" after a 12-year-old autistic boy was admitted to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center because he swallowed magnets that were part of a toy. The boy had perforations and cell death in his bowels.

The doctor fears there will be further problems caused by new magnetic jewelry that is made to look like body piercings.

Oestreich says "Parents and physicians should be on alert."

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