Have you ever had a burger to die for? A man in Singapore was on the brink of knowing what that feels like after completing a food challenge involving a hamburger. The unnamed 30-year-old consumed a gigantic 7-pound hamburger in just 30 minutes. That put pressure on his intestines and stretched his stomach so much that it was at risk of bursting. When a stomach bursts — known as a gastric perforation — it can kill you within hours. If untreated, it can lead to sepsis and multi-organ failure. The blockage kept the man from passing gas or having a bowel movement, putting him in extreme distress. A CT scan of his stomach showed undigested food putting pressure on his organs, so doctors inserted a tube through his nose to help drain it and reduce the pressure. Just as doctors were considering surgery to remove the food, the patient began passing gas, indicating that his digestive system was beginning to catch up. When the man chowed down on the behemoth burger, it stretched his stomach way beyond its 30- to 50-ounce capacity. After a 5-day stay in the hospital and a healthy bowel movement, the man was discharged from the hospital with a warning: competitive eating should never be undertaken by anyone but professionals — and even then it’s a gamble.
