Health Highlights | Battery safety around the holidays
Shiny new toys will be lying under many Christmas trees this season, sure to bring joy to kids around the world.
But inside these things also lie dangerous pieces parents and others need to keep an eye on.
Things such as batteries and magnets, both small and shiny, are potentially life-threatening objects.
Tinsley Anderson, MD, a pediatric surgeon with OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois, calls small, round batteries “particularly problematic.” Saying they can easily get stuck in the esophagus and cause a burn injury.
When a child swallows a battery like this, surgery is needed.
"In buying gifts for your kids, I'd look for toys that don't have parts that come apart. If they have a battery component, make sure it's screwed in," Dr. Anderson says. "That way you're not changing the battery, and in a year from now, your kid probably won't want the toy anyway."
Dr. Anderson says mucus and moisture inside the body completes the battery's circuit, activating the battery and causing an alkaline burn.
She says warning warning signs to look out for if your kid swallowed a battery, is if they're drooling, unable to swallow or eat, have belly pain, or if an item is missing and you think your child might have eaten it.
It's crucial to head straight to the emergency room to be checked.
Key takeaways:
- Button batteries and magnets are especially dangerous
- Only give battery-powered toys to kids if the part with the batteries is able to be screwed in tight
- Swallowing a battery or magnet requires a trip to the emergency department and surgery