Woman has serious intestinal problems for six years due to bag of ketchup

- For no less than six years, a British woman thought she had a severe bowel disease, but she was astonished when she discovered the cause of her 'illness.' That turned out to be a nicely packaged bag of ketchup.

The medical journal British Medical Journal reports on the special incident. The 41-year-old woman suffered from attacks of acute abdominal pain and bloating that lasted for three days.

Doctors thought they suffered from Crohn's disease. When the standard treatment did not work, doctors at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital decided to operate in Slough.

During a surgery, doctors found something special. A piece of a ketchup bag was found in her small intestine.

When the packaging of the Heinz ketchup bag was removed, the woman's complaints disappeared like snow in the sun. The woman still had no complaints five months after the operation.

The woman herself could not remember that she had eaten a meal with Heinz-ketchup. The package had perforated her small intestine.

According to doctors, it was the first time that a swallowed package had caused the symptoms of Crohn's disease.