More kids are going to the ER for swallowing 'button' batteries, study finds. Why that's really dangerous

More than 70,000 children in the past decade went to the emergency room for swallowing batteries, a new study found, a stark increase from the previous decade. 

Using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 2010 and 2019, researchers determined an estimated 70,322 battery-related emergency department visits among people under 18, according to the study published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics.

Based on an estimated 7,032 incidents a year, study authors determined that on average one battery-related trip to the emergency room occurs every 1.25 hours. That’s more than twice the rate between 1990 and 2009, when a battery-related emergency room visit happened every 2.66 hours.

“What we found was quite concerning,” said study co-author Dr. Kris Jatana, a pediatric otolaryngologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a professor at The Ohio State University. “The emergency department visit rate was more than double what it was the two prior decades.”

More than 84% of patients were under 5, and “button” batteries accounted for nearly 85% of the emergency room visits. 

Lithium button batteries are one of the most dangerous objects for a child to swallow, a “true medical emergency,” said Dr. Rade Vukmir, a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians and a professor of clinical medicine at Drexel University.

If the batteries get stuck in a child’s throat, the saliva triggers an electric current causing a chemical burn that can severely damage the esophagus. That can happen in as little as two hours after ingestion and lead to perforation, vocal cord paralysis or airway erosion.

“The clock is ticking the moment it gets stuck in the esophagus,” Jatana said. “These injuries can become quite serious, difficult to repair surgically and life-changing in that children (may need) a feeding or breathing tube.”

Three-volt lithium button batteries are among the most dangerous because they have a higher voltage that can cause more damage in a shorter time. They also can get stuck in the throat more easily because of their larger diameter.

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Children who might have swallowed a battery should immediately be taken to the emergency room, health experts say.

If there’s a jar of honey in the house, experts recommend parents give their child two teaspoons of honey every 10 minutes on their way to the hospital to coat the throat and reduce the risk of serious injury. Honey should be given to only children older than 1. Besides honey, no other food or drink should be given after a battery is swallowed.

Vukmir also recommends bringing the type of battery that might have been swallowed – if parents have it – to help emergency room physicians assess the situation. But parents shouldn’t stop at the store for honey or spend more than a few minutes finding the battery, he added.  

If a child swallows a battery, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia also warns against trying to induce vomiting, giving any medications, drinking milk or water, or trying the Heimlich maneuver.

When it comes to swallowed batteries, health experts say prevention is key.

“More and more of this ‘button’ battery hazard is in the household setting than in the past,” Jatana said. “As a pediatric head and neck surgeon, I’ve seen too many children injured by 'button' batteries.”

Products marketed to children have safety packs that make it harder to access the batteries, but many common household products lack such safeguards to protect roaming toddlers.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed a bill called Reese's Law – named after a child who died from swallowing a button battery in 2020 – that directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to set new safety standards for products that have button or coin batteries, like safer packaging and more visible warning labels. The agency has a year to set the regulatory standards.

In the meantime, health experts urge parents to secure their electronics and prevent children from accessing batteries. Vukmir also suggests properly disposing of dead batteries outside the home.

“Even when they’re dead, they still have enough charge to cause real damage,” he said. “Don’t leave them around everywhere, ensure they’re out of reach, and make kids understand these are dangerous items.”  

But the best way to prevent serious injuries from swallowing batteries, Jatana added, is for companies to develop safer battery technology. A startup called Landsdown Labs is designing a battery that becomes inactive when accidentally ingested.

“Functional in the product, but in the esophagus, acts like a coin that can be removed without consequences,” he said. “That’s what we need the industry to adopt.”

Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT. 

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