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A young woman has revealed the "truly terrifying" moment she accidentally swallowed a 17cm-long spoon while eating yoghurt.

Reymy Amelinckx, 28, said disaster struck when she was sitting on the couch when her energetic dog, named Marley, suddenly jumped on her.

The 28-year-old, from Rumst, in Belgium, said she tried to remove the spoon with her hand but she was left with the horrifying decision to "either swallow or choke". Reymy said she waited hours to do anything, because she was embarrassed but later rushed to A&E after realising how serious the incident was.

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The young woman said: "I put the spoon in my mouth so I had my hands free to reply to a message. Just then, Marley decided to jump on me.

"I was so startled I jerked my head back, and before I knew it, the spoon was lodged in my throat. I stood up and started to panic."

Reymy, who works as a medical representative, decided to swallow the spoon when she couldn't remove it with her hand. When her boyfriend came home from work, she said she felt too embarrassed to tell him so she "pretended nothing was wrong".

She said: " I didn't feel bad at all – so I didn't say anything about it right away. It wasn't until after dinner that I realised it was actually quite serious. There was a 17cm spoon in my stomach. Online, everywhere said the same thing: go straight to the emergency room. It was only then that I realised how dangerous it could be."

Doctors told her the spoon was too large to pass naturally, so she had to return home and wait until a gastroscopy could be scheduled. Reymy said: "That night was difficult, I felt the spoon moving, sometimes even between my ribs. It was truly terrifying.

"I felt bloated and nauseous, and I couldn't eat without feeling strange. Sleeping was difficult because every position reminded me of the spoon in my stomach."

The utensil was removed two days later under local anaesthetic. She added: "I wasn’t allowed to swallow while they pulled it up. They had to rotate it in my stomach, which caused a small gastric haemorrhage. It wasn't pleasant, but I felt pure relief when it came out."

She added: "I'm so glad the spoon was eventually removed with a gastroscopy and that they didn't have to surgically cut open my stomach."

A few hours later, the spoon swallower was allowed to go home and she revealed her recovery was fast. She said: "I had a sore throat due to damage to my oesophagus, a few minor gastric bleeding episodes, and a sensitive stomach for a while, but no permanent damage."

Despite the nasty experience, Reymy decided to keep hold of the spoon in question as a keepsake. She said: "My boyfriend wants to turn it into a work of art. He doesn't know exactly what yet, but it will definitely be a unique piece. That's the least such an adventure deserves."

Reymy shared some advice for those thinking of going hands-free with a utensil in order to text, saying: "Enthusiastic dogs + eating on laps = risk zone. Teach them a 'wait' or 'quiet' command for jumping moments.

"For yogurt eaters: don't eat with cutlery completely in your mouth. Don't multitask with animals, and avoid jump scares and laughing with your mouth full. If you swallow something that really shouldn't be there: seek medical attention immediately. Embarrassment is temporary, internal damage isn't."