HOME SAFETY
Button Battery Injury Prevention
Little kids love to explore and when they find something new and small, they tend to give it a taste. Electronic devices are getting smaller, slimmer and sleeker. There are mini remote controls, small calculators, watches, key fobs, flameless candles and musical greeting cards. Young children do not understand the dangers of swallowing the batteries found in these devices and many parents do not even realize the dangers associated with small batteries. Here are a few things to remember to make sure these batteries stay where they belong.
Safety Tips
- Search your home and any place your child goes for gadgets that may contain coin-sized lithium batteries.
- Keep small lithium battery-controlled devices out of sight and reach of children. These include remote controls, singing greeting cards, digital scales, watches, hearing aids, thermometers, children’s toys, calculators, key fobs, flameless or tea light candles, flashing holiday jewelry or decorations that contain button batteries.
- Keep loose batteries locked away where a child cannot reach them.
- If you suspect your child has ingested a battery, go to the hospital immediately. Do not induce vomiting or have your child eat or drink anything until they are assessed by a medical professional.
Button Battery Dangers
- When a child swallows a button battery, the saliva triggers an electrical current. This causes a chemical reaction that can severely burn the esophagus in as little as two hours.
- Parents must be alert because it may not be obvious at first that there is something wrong. Children can still breathe and act normally after ingesting a battery and may not present any symptoms, though it may seem like your child has a cold or flu.
- Repairing the damage from battery ingestion is painful and often involves multiple surgeries. Even after removal, a child can experience terrible side effects to their vocal chords and windpipe.
Injury Risk Areas
