Actions to Take When Your Child Swallows a Button Cell Battery

In a worrying trend, the number of incidents involving young children accidentally swallowing button batteries has doubled over the past two decades, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics. These coin-shaped batteries, commonly found in household items such as watches, hearing aids, car keys, and children's toys, can pose a significant danger if ingested.

Symptoms of button battery ingestion can be subtle but alarming. Refusing to eat or drink, coughing or choking, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, excessive drooling, noisy breathing, a hoarse voice, abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody stool, saliva, or vomit may all indicate that a battery has been swallowed. If a foreign object is suspected to have been swallowed by a child, it is crucial to call poison control immediately, in addition to contacting the child's doctor or 911.

Button batteries can cause tissue damage and, in extreme cases, even death. The batteries can make holes in the esophagus and intestines, leading to serious complications. To prevent such incidents, parents and caregivers are advised to keep button batteries out of a child's reach and store them safely. This includes using child-proofing devices to secure button batteries and storing them away from children's toys and household items.

When disposing of a button battery, it is recommended to place tape on both sides and store it securely until recycling. Unfortunately, there are currently no manufacturers of button cells that provide packaging with clear, detailed markings specifically designed to remind parents and caregivers to store button cells safely. Typical button cell labels focus mainly on size and model code rather than safety reminders.

Pediatrician Lisa Diard, MD, emphasizes the importance of awareness when it comes to objects in the home that contain button batteries. She states that about 800,000 kids came in to the emergency room for foreign body ingestion, with a rising rate for battery ingestion. Dr. Diard recommends keeping button batteries out of a child's reach and being aware of the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (1.800.498.8666) and the Poison Control hotline (1.800.222.1222).

To ensure the safety of young children, it is essential to play with toys that use button batteries under supervision and to make sure that button batteries in car keys are tightly screwed in. By taking these precautions, we can help protect our children from the dangers posed by button batteries.