Button Batteries Don’t Taste Like Candy

My kid has never been one of those types of kids to put weird or unknown things in his mouth. But many kids wouldn’t think twice about finding out how a small metallic disc tastes- or whether or not it will fit neatly up the nostril. But a new study says that not only are these batteries frequently swallowed, they cause burns as they traverse the gullet.

From the Reg here:

The next time you replace a button battery, do take care to dispose of it thoughtfully lest your kids swallow it and end up subjecting their innards to a damaging electrical current.

65,788 juvenile battery insertion incidents took place across the USA over the period studied.

The mean age for battery-related issues was 3.9 years and 60.2% of kids admitted were boys. The incidents fell into the following categories:

Ingestion – 76.6%
Nasal cavity insertion – 10.2%
Mouth exposure – 7.5%
Ear canal insertion – 5.7%

The incidents are no laughing matter, as a swallowed button cell can generate sufficient current to burn a hole in a child’s esophagus, from the inside, without the child displaying any obvious symptoms. Acid can also injure. Even batteries that appear depleted, inasmuch as they can no longer power electrical devices, can inflict these injuries.

Not to mention that many of these batteries contain some chemical elements which can also be toxic. There is even a flow chart here from the Poison Control Center that talks about how these button batteries cause “necrosis” in tissue it touches. Eeks.