4 Answers

You've heard the legends. If you swallow your gum it will take seven years to digest. If you swallow your gum it will stay in your stomach forever. Fact? Fiction? The answer partly depends on the kind of gum you're chewing. If natural gum (chicle) stayed in your stomach, it would dissolve in the highly acidic environment long before seven years had passed. However, most gum is made of synthetic polymers, not the natural latex of the original product. Basically this means most gum is plastic. How long does it take for plastic to dissolve in your stomach? I don't know. You could test that with a science fair project perhaps... see how long it takes for gum to dissolve in acid. Gum doesn't stay in your stomach, however. It continues its journey into your intestines, eventually finding its way out of your system in pretty much the same condition as when you swallowed it. If the gum gets stuck in your intestinal tract, it actually could stay there forever. In rare cases, swallowing gum can lead to the development of an intestinal stone, called a bezoar or enterolith. These form when a difficult-to-digest substance gets trapped. The obstruction becomes calcified and hardens to become a permanent addition to your body.

12 years ago. Rating: 12
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I believe it just passes, I swallowed a piece yesterday. I sure hope it passes..........

12 years ago. Rating: 5
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Watch for it and let us know.

12 years ago. Rating: 3
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My mother used to say it got stuck in your appendix, but I am sure it stays at least 7 years if spat onto the sidewalk.

12 years ago. Rating: 2
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