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By Alyce Collins
Senior Reporter
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A woman has warned against drinking out of glass straws after accidentally swallowing a shard of glass, which left her in the hospital.
In the past, Breanne O'Brien would regularly drink her water out of a cup with a glass straw. It’s a popular trend to elevate a simple everyday drink while remaining environmentally sustainable. Yet O’Brien, 35, of Orange County, California, never imagined that habit would leave her in the hospital earlier this month.
On November 22, she was drinking her water as usual when she felt something peculiar. She told Newsweek that she noticed “a chunk of something” in her throat, but she couldn’t explain it because there wasn’t anything in her drink.
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After looking down at her drink and the glass straw, it quickly became clear.
“I was confused because I was just drinking water,” O’Brien said. “I pulled my straw out and looked at the bottom tip, then I noticed a piece was chipped off that was not broken off before use.”
There wasn’t any pain or discomfort straight after, so O’Brien just decided to see what happened naturally. But two hours later, when O’Brien noticed blood in her mouth and became incredibly alarmed.
“I was getting worried about it and debated going in. Then I burped and some blood came up, so I rushed to the ER immediately,” she said.
O’Brien had to go for an X-ray and a CT scan, which revealed a two-centimeter shard of glass in her stomach. This immediately led O’Brien to think the worst, and the mom of six couldn’t stop thinking about her children at home who needed her.
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“It felt like the doctor didn’t believe me at first, and they didn’t seem too concerned," she told Newsweek. "Then, when he finally talked to the gastroenterologist, he told them to rush things immediately. He saw it in my stomach, and they rushed me to put me under and do an endoscopy.
“By the time they got there, they couldn't find it and came to the conclusion that it already passed my stomach. They sent me home and said to watch for blood, sharp pain, chest pain,” she continued.
O’Brien never imagined that drinking out of a glass straw could be so harmful, and now she urges others to be cautious when using them. She documented the experience on TikTok (@_colorful__chaos_) and, alongside footage of herself in the hospital, wrote: “PSA: Do not use glass straws.”
In just a matter of days, the video has gone viral with over 27.4 million views and more than 987,300 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
The ordeal has left social media users horrified. By sharing her experience, O’Brien hopes people will be “super careful” and avoid the same pain she endured.
“I never thought of this even happening. I thought I’d notice if this happened, but it broke off in my drink and I don’t typically take my straws out and inspect them at every sip,” O’Brien said.
Since O’Brien took to TikTok to share her story, the video has already generated over 26,300 comments.
One comment reads: “new fear unlocked.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “Me going to my kitchen and throwing out my glass straws. Right now!”
Another commenter wrote: “guys, buy stainless steel or silicon straws. those glass straws are not it.”
Is there a health issue that's worrying you? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
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