A 14-year-old girl in China was hospitalized last month after she complained about severe constipation and stomach aches and her CT scan helped doctors find the reason why: it was the tapioca pearls from all the bubble tea that she drank.
The girl was reluctant to reveal what she had eaten but she claimed that she only drank a cup of bubble tea five days before her severe stomach ache began, according to an Asia One report.
"The girl, who lived in Zhejiang province, complained of being constipated, not being able to eat, and was suffering from stomachaches. According to Chinese media reports, her parents finally sent her to the hospital on May 28," the report said.
Doctors were baffled when they performed a CT scan which showed a lot of unusual spherical shadows in her abdomen. These turned out to be almost a hundred undigested tapioca pearls from the bubble tea that she had consumed. Doctor Zhang Louzhen, who treated the girl, said that it would take more than a cup of bubble tea for such a massive amount of pearls to have accumulated in her abdomen. The doctor suspected that the girl may have been hiding the truth because she was scared of being punished by her parents.
The girl was given laxatives to relieve her of constipation. Another doctor issued a warning that bubble tea pearls or boba, which are made out of starch, are hard to digest. There are a lot of apprehensions that some stores add thickeners and preservatives to the pearls so that it would last longer when stored.
Indigestion is actually more serious than people think. This is usually caused by eating habits or chronic digestive problem. This results from eating too fast or overeating. Greasy, spicy and fatty foods also increase the risk of indigestion. If you lay down too soon after eating, it can make it harder to digest your food. Not chewing properly is also a cause for indigestion. This could increase your risk of abdominal discomfort.
Other common causes of poor digestion include smoking, drinking too much alcohol and side effects of the medicine. Symptoms of indigestion can also be caused by gastric cancer, acid reflux disease, pancreatic or bile duct abnormalities, and peptic ulcers.
Indigestion can cause stomach pain or bloating, it can also cause heartburn, nausea, and vomiting. Other common symptoms of indigestion include feeling full during a meal and not being able to finish your meal, feeling full after eating a normal-sized meal, burning sensation in the stomach or esophagus, experiencing excessive gas or belching and gnawing sensation in the stomach. Do not ignore the symptoms of indigestion. See your doctor right away if you experience vomiting, severe stomach pain, black stools, if you have trouble swallowing and if you are experiencing unexplainable weight loss.
