A 41-year-old British woman who had been diagnosed with Crohn's disease and dealt with severe bowel issues for 6 years found out the root of her pain was a Heinz ketchup packet stuck in her gut.
She was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after complaining of acute abdominal pain and bloating lasting up to 3 days.
The standard treatment was no help to her, so doctors had to operate. During surgery they discovered an inflamed mass piercing in the woman's small intestine.
That turned out to be two pieces of packaging bearing the Heinz logo. After the packet was removed, the woman's pain went away immediately.
Researchers wrote a report in the British Medical Journal:
“This case highlights that an inflammatory mass in the small intestine caused by the perforation of ingested foreign body can mimic Crohn’s disease."
The woman says she has no memory of eating a meal involving the ketchup. Doctors added in the journal:
“To our knowledge, this is the first report of a synthetic plastic packaging causing ileo-caecal junctional perforation mimicking Crohn’s disease."