Man left with life-changing injury after spending too long on his phone on the toilet

If you've gotten into the habit of playing on your phone while sitting on the toilet, then this story might convince you to stop that.

Warning: The story will feature some graphic bodily descriptions so don't read if you have a weak stomach.

A man in China was rushed to hospital after his rectum prolapsed whilst he was sitting on the loo.

The man, who was taken to The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Zhongshan, told doctors he had been trying to poo for 30 minutes while also playing a game on his smartphone.

According to Dr Su Dan, the man had suffered a rectal prolapse measuring 16 centimetres long but after gastrointestinal surgery, it was successfully removed.

The doctor added that the man had suffered from this condition since he was a child but never to this extent.

The Daily Mail quotes him as saying:

The patient has had rectal prolapse since he was four years old, but the bulge was able to retract in the past.

But he did not have the condition treated, so the situation got worse.

This rather unfortunate and embarrassing condition reportedly affects around two in every 100,000 people according to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.

Prolapses can occur when an individual has a loose sphincter muscle which can be caused by injury, chronic constipation, infection, intestinal worms or nerve damage.

The rectum is the final part of the large intestine, but if it becomes detached can slip out of the anus and become telescopic, causing it to turn "inside out."

The ASCRS state that the problem rarely requires medical attention and mostly affects adults over the age of 50, with women six times more like to develop the problem than men.

HT Metro, Live Science

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