Simple first aid guide: What to do if a child swallows a button battery?

Simple first aid guide: What to do if a child swallows a button battery?

What are button batteries?

Button batteries, in particular the big, powerful lithium coin cell batteries, are used in a wide variety of portable electrical appliances, including:

· Car key fobs

· Fitness trackers

· Children's electrical toys

· Light up yo-yos

· Weighing scales

· Remote controls

Button batteries can badly hurt or kill a small child if they swallow one and it gets stuck in their oesophagus (food pipe). The most common lithium coin cell batteries powering these products are 20mm in diameter (These are known as CR2016, CR2025, or CR2032); but other diameter batteries also exist including 16mm, 23mm, and 30mm.

Why are button batteries so dangerous?

Most button batteries will pass through the body without much of an issue, but if a lithium coin cell battery gets stuck in the trachea, the electrical current discharged from the battery will react with saliva to create sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and not as commonly supposed, from leakage from the battery. Caustic soda is the same chemical that is used to unblock drains. This caustic soda can burn through the oesophagus (food pipe) all the way to the main artery and lead to catastrophic internal bleeding and potential death. This chemical reaction may happen in as little as two hours, although sometimes it takes days or even weeks.

Lithium coin cell batteries can also cause life-changing injuries. There is a risk that the oesophagus (food pipe) is too badly damaged for a child to ever eat normally, or the vocal cords are too badly damaged for a child to speak normally again.

Who is at risk?

Children are most at risk from 1 to 4 years, but younger and older children can also be at risk.

Crawling babies up to pre-schoolers are at particular risk as they explore the world by putting things in their mouths. Toddlers are naturally inquisitive and can be very determined to explore and get into things.

Older children can be fascinated by them too. In some cases, they may deliberately put one of these batteries in their mouth or on their tongue to experience the sensation of the electrical charge.

How big is the risk?

In the UK at least two children a year have died as a result of swallowing lithium coin cell batteries in this country.

At Great Ormond Street Hospital, surgeons are seeing one child every month with corrosive burns which have been caused by button batteries.

Button batteries in children’s toys

Toy safety regulations in the UK cover the use of batteries in children’s toys. These regulations state that the button batteries should be enclosed by a screw as well as a secure compartment, or, alternatively, require 2 independent or simultaneous movements in order to open the battery compartment.

Unfortunately, though, some toys which are bought online, from marketplaces, temporary/pop-up shops, and discount shops, are not covered by the toy safety regulations as they are not being followed.

Spare batteries

A product may come with a spare button battery which may be in a small plastic bag. Usually, when you buy replacement button batteries, they will be separately sealed in a pack that can only be opened by scissors. When you purchase cheaper packs of button batteries (Online stores or discounted stores), the packaging does not seem as secure and when opened all the batteries tend to fall out, with the danger that some will fall onto the floor, with the potential of an infant or younger child picking them up and swallowing them.

What to do if you suspect an infant or child has swallowed a button battery?

It is essential that you take immediate first-aid action!!

• Take them straight to the A&E department at your local hospital or dial 999/112 for an ambulance.

• Tell the doctor there that you think your child has swallowed a button battery.

• If you have the battery packaging or the product powered by the battery, take it with you. This will help the doctor identify the type of battery and make treatment easier.

• Do not let your child eat or drink.

• Do not make them sick.

• Trust your instincts and act quickly – do not wait to see if any symptoms develop.

What if there are no obvious symptoms?

Unfortunately, it is not always obvious when a button battery is stuck in a child’s trachea. There are no specific symptoms associated with this. The child may:

• Cough, gag, or drool (dribble) a lot

• Appear to have a stomach upset or a virus

• Be sick

• Have lost or have a greatly reduced appetite

• Be tired or more lethargic than normal

• Point to their throat or tummy

• Have pain in their tummy, chest, or throat

• Be quieter or more clingy than usual or otherwise ‘not themselves

• Not want to eat solid food or able be unable to eat solid food.

It is important to understand that these sorts of symptoms vary. Plus, the symptoms may fluctuate, with the pain increasing and then subsiding.

This is why it is really important to trust your instincts and act fast if you suspect your child has swallowed a button battery, taking them to A&E or dial 999 or 112 for an ambulance.

One thing specific to button battery ingestion is vomiting fresh (bright red) blood. If the child does this, then seek immediate medical help.

Simple first aid guide: What to do if a child swallows a button battery?

Simple first aid guide: What to do if a child swallows a button battery? Is one of a series of Simple first-aid guides that have been produced by Dynamo Training Solutions.

Dynamo Training Solutions provides training throughout London, Kent, and the South East.