A British man says his attempt to break down popcorn in his teeth led to a life-threatening heart condition which required an open heart operation.
Fox’s news shows that 41 year-old Adam Martin said he tried several times, after a film night with his wife in September 2019, to dislodge the popcorn trapped in his back tooth.
For three days he claimed to have used many things, including a pen cap, a toothpick, a piece of wire and even a metal nail, to try and dislodge it.
As Martin began to suffer for more than a month from night sweats, tiredness and headaches, his doctor initially diagnosed him with a slight heart murmur.
But when his symptoms continued, he went to Royal Cornwall Hospital, where endocarditis, a lining infection of the inner surfaces of the heart chamber occurred when bacteria enter the bloodstream from the mouth and from elsewhere. Chest scans showed that the infection had weakened his heart.
He was then transferred to a different hospital, where he underwent a seven-hour open heart surgery to repair the damage. He claims that the bacterial infection was caused by him excessively picking at his teeth and damaging his gums.
“If I had gone to the dentist in the first place, then none of this would have happened. I am never eating popcorn again, that’s for sure.“
Martin’s wife, Helen, has said that her husband’s infection could have easily been treated sooner with antibiotics. “Your gums are a bacterial highway to your heart.”
