In this brief guide, we’ll address the search query: “How long does it take to pass a cherry pit?” Also, we’ll explore what cherry pits are, what the risks of consuming cherry pits are, and what our readers can do if they’ve accidentally swallowed a cherry pit.
How long does it take to pass a cherry pit?
On average, it can take between one or two days for an individual to pass a cherry pit.
It’s not uncommon, and not dangerous either for someone to accidentally swallow a cherry pit. They’re common in stone fruits, though often larger in other types such as peaches and apricots, the stones are larger, more conspicuous, and therefore difficult to swallow as easily.
If the cherry is mashed or otherwise damaged, it may release amygdalin, which is toxic and a precursor to cyanide in our bodies. However, the amount of amygdalin released by a single cherry pit is not lethal, and our readers would have to consume several crushed cherry pits for there to be any potentially lethal side effects.
In short, swallowing a cherry pit is not a serious threat to one’s health, and can be resolved within a short amount of time.
What are cherry pits?
Cherry pits are the stones in the center of cherry fruits. As cherries are drupes, this means that botanically, their seed is covered by a hard outer shell, and within, is the almond-shaped embryo and embryonic leaves.
Cherry pits can release amygdalin if they’re ingested and their inner layers exposed. Amygdalin is a precursor that in our bodies can be transformed into cyanide–with potentially lethal effects.
As a result, many of our readers may opt to purchase pitted cherries – cherries that have had their stoned removed, and may even be processed, by methods such as drying or tinning them with syrup.
What are the risks of eating cherry pits?
Eating cherry pits, especially if they’re crushed or opened, can have dangerous side effects. Moreover, consuming enough cherry pits that lead to 1.1 milligrams of cyanide per kilogram of an individual’s body weight can have deadly side effects.
Cyanide poisoning can also have other symptoms such as tachycardia (elevated heart rate), exhaustion, headaches, difficulty breathing, seizures, and loss of conscience.
Symptoms of chronic exposure to cyanide may include vomiting, a widespread flush, drowsiness, dizziness, sweating, and a lack of oxygenation to other tissues, which can lead to blue lips, fingernails, and extremities.
The exact number of cherry pits a person would have to eat to experience these symptoms would depend on whether the pits are crushed or intact, what concentration of amygdalin each one has, and most importantly, a person’s size and body weight.
Intact cherry pits are mostly innocuous. While amygdalin intake can have dangerous side effects, it would require several pits for there to be dangerous side effects. Namely, as the concentration of amygdalin (which our bodies convert to cyanide) in each cherry pit varies, it would be challenging to determine exactly how many would cause lethal poisoning.
Nevertheless, it’s recommended that our readers remove the pits from their cherries to avoid any potentially dangerous risks.
What can I do if I’ve accidentally swallowed a cherry pit?
If our readers accidentally swallow a cherry pit, they should stay calm, and discern whether or not the cherry pit was intact. If it was intact, they can be at ease, as they’ll experience no symptoms of cyanide poisoning.
If however, the cherry pit was crushed or otherwise damaged, they should remain vigilant for any signs of intoxication, such as dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, coldness in the extremities, etc.
At the first sign of any of the aforementioned symptoms, our readers should immediately call poison control and seek emergency medical care.
In the case of small children, we urge our readers to keep a close watch on what they eat and always minimize risks, in this case, by pitting the cherries beforehand, or only feeding them pitted cherries from reputable sources.
We urge our readers to prioritize their health and anticipate what type of cherries best suit their needs, be they fresh or processed and pitted.
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we’ll address the search query: “How long does it take to pass a cherry pit?” Also, we’ll explore what cherry pits are, what the risks of consuming cherry pits are, and what our readers can do if they’ve accidentally swallowed a cherry pit.