Number of Kids Swallowing Button Batteries on the Rise
Posted on May 14, 2012
A new study in the journal Pediatrics has found that the number of battery-related emergency department visits by children are on the rise. The smaller-sized button batteries are increasingly used in devices. Button batteries can be dangerous if swallowed by children. A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that the annual number of battery-related emergency department visits among children younger than 18 years of age more than doubled over the 20-year study period, jumping from 2,591 emergency department visits in 1990 to 5,525 emergency department visits in 2009. The number of button batteries swallowed by children also doubled during this period.
Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, says, "We live in a world designed by adults for the convenience of adults, and the safety of children is often not considered. Products with easily-accessible battery compartments are everywhere in our homes today. By making a few simple design changes and strengthening product manufacturing standards, including products not intended for use by young children, we could prevent many of the serious and sometimes fatal injuries that occur when children are able to easily access button batteries in common household products."
The problem is not just the increased use of the smaller batteries, but the increase in power. Recent reports suggest that the number of fatal and severe button battery ingestions is on the rise. This trend is associated with the increasing use of the three volt, 20 millimeter, lithium button batteries.
Dr. Smith says, "The increased prevalence of the higher voltage 20mm lithium batteries is concerning because it coincides with an alarming 113 percent increase in battery ingestions and insertions by young children. When a button battery is swallowed and gets caught in a child's esophagus, serious, even fatal injuries can occur in less than two hours."
Here is an updated video about the risks to kids of button batteries from BBC News: