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Toy recall, report signal small-battery dangers
Swallowing button batteries can be fatal or cause serious harm, and research suggests that severe injuries in children, though relatively scarce, are on the rise.
The dangers are highlighted in a new medical report about 10 cases at a Utah hospital, including seven that caused severe damage, and in last week’s recall of more than 1 million Chuck E. Cheese battery-containing toys. There are no reports of children injured by the Chuck E. Cheese toys, but the toys were recalled because swallowing batteries can be so dangerous.
Button batteries are widely used in dozens of household products including toys, games, remote controls, musical greeting cards, cell phones, watches and lighted shoes. Batteries pose a special swallowing risk; even if they don’t completely block the throat, they can trigger a chemical process when they lodge there that can burn through tissue within just a few hours.
“These are bad news. They have to be removed immediately,” said Dr. Fuad Baroody, a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist at the University of Chicago. Baroody said his hospital treats about two to three children each year with battery-related injuries.
In the throat, “the window for safely removing batteries is only two hours,” said Dr. Toby Litovitz, director of the National Capital Poison Center.
When surrounded by moist tissue, batteries can create an electrical current that combines with body fluids to form a caustic lye-like chemical, she explained.
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Lithium cell batteries at least 20 millimeters in diameter, a little bigger than a penny, are the riskiest. They’ve become commonplace because they’re lighter and more powerful than older-model batteries, Litovitz said. They’re also more likely than older models to lodge in young children’s throats and cause damage, and have been implicated in at least six of 10 deaths since 2003 reported to the center.
Of 80 severe cases reported to the center since the 1970s, 42 occurred since 2004. Ten of 14 deaths reported since 1977 occurred within the past six years, Litovitz said. She said many cases likely go unreported. Her center operates a 24-hour hot line offering advice when battery ingestion is suspected.
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