‘Button’ Batteries Pose Dangers to Children
Visits to emergency rooms by kids who have swallowed batteries have doubled over the last twenty years, according to a study of ER data.
Eighty percent of these trips are now because of “button” batteries, those little coin-shaped batteries found in greeting cards, remote controls, toys, hearing aids and more. It’s important for parents to check products and keep these away from little kids, who naturally put things in their mouth as a part of figuring out what they are.
Swallowed batteries can leak acid if the casing around the battery is eroded, or worse, create an electrical current flowing through tissue and burn a hole in the trachea or esophagus. This can happen even if the battery is considered “dead.”
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