A 14-year old girl in China was admitted to Zhejiang Zhuji City People's Hospital after experiencing constipation and abdominal pain for several days, as well as swelling in her stomach.

Hundreds of pearls

According to Chinese news outlet The Paper, the scan of the girl's body then revealed hundreds of small, circular objects that filled much of her organs, from her stomach to her colon and her anus.

When the doctor, who has been identified as Zhang Lou Wei, asked the teenager about her dietary habits, she admitted that she drank bubble tea five days ago.

However, Zhang suspects that it may have been pearls that were accumulated from regular intake of the beverage over a period of time, given the sheer number that appeared in the scan.

Zhang then prescribed a laxative to expel the objects within her body.

Yu Ling, the head of the Zhuji City People's Hospital's emergency department mentioned that pearls are made from tapioca, which is hard to digest.

Given that some manufacturers also add additives and thickeners to the pearls to make them chewier, pearls consumed in big quantities could possibly harm the body's gastrointestinal function.

Suspected heavy metal poisoning

It is unclear if tapioca pearl is fully to blame for this poor girl's ordeal.

In a WeChat screenshot uploaded by The Paper, a user alleged that the scans revealed traces of heavy metal accumulated within the girl's body.

According to another Chinese website Sohu, Zhang noted that cases that were similar to the teenager's were often caused by heavy metal poisoning.

Whether girl had actually suffered heavy metal poisoning, however, needed further investigation.

Top image adapted via The Paper