Button battery injury prevention

AboutKidsHealth has recently published a new article on button batteries. A button battery is a small, round, flat battery that is found in children’s toys and household items.
Some household objects that contain button batteries include:
  • key fobs (car keys)
  • flashing shoes or clothing
  • hearing aids
  • remote controls
  • musical greeting cards
  • thermometers
  • toys, games or talking books
  • flameless candles
  • kitchen and bathroom scales
  • watches
  • decorations and ornaments
  • calculators
  • flashing jewelry
  • cameras
 
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Button battery injury prevention

Button battery injuries cannot be treated at home. If a child swallows a button battery, they must go to the hospital immediately. Button batteries can cause internal burns in as little as 15 minutes and long-term injury in just two hours.

 

How common are button battery injuries?
The number of injuries caused by button battery ingestions has increased in the last 15 years, even though the rate of ingestion has remained the same. This is because of an increase in battery size and higher voltage batteries.

However, there has been a worldwide increase in the number of button battery ingestions along with other ingestions during the COVID-19 pandemic as families spent more time at home.

 

How can button battery injuries be prevented?
While most button battery ingestions are unwitnessed, there are some things parents and caregivers can do to prevent ingestion and injury.

  • Lock up extra batteries and keep them out of sight with all of your other household hazards.
  • Keep objects with button batteries that do not have screwed-secured compartments away from children.
  • Ensure battery-operated toys and appliances are not damaged.
  • Dispose of dead batteries right away. Cover dead batteries with duct tape or packing tape if they cannot be immediately discarded.

 

Follow-up care
Some complications can take time to develop so it is important to follow up with the health-care team so your child can be monitored. Scarring in the esophagus can cause problems with swallowing and can take about 4 weeks to develop. If the button battery passed through the esophagus into the GI tract, but you did not find the battery in your child’s stool, the battery could be stuck somewhere along the GI tract.

 

AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ health-education website and features more than 3,500 articles on a range of health topics. For more information on button batteries and other health topics, visit www.aboutkidshealth.ca.