If you have young kids and you haven’t heard of button batteries, they need to be on your radar. To kids, they might look like lollies or coins, and can be very easily swallowed or put up a nose or in an ear.
Whilst many worry about the choking risk, because of their shape, they are more likely to lodge in the oesophagus (the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach). Once inside the body, button batteries can cause serious burns, leading to severe injuries and even death.
Watch what happens when a button battery is inserted into a chicken fillet. Like the chicken, it can take as little as two hours to cause severe burns once a button battery has been ingested and remains lodged in the body, so you need to act quickly.
If you think your child might have swallowed or inserted a button battery, contact the Poisons Information Centre immediately on 13 11 26 for fast expert advice, 24/7.
Do not let the child eat or drink, and do not try and make them vomit.
Symptoms from an ingested button battery are not immediately noticeable and can be very non-specific but look out for sudden onset of symptoms.
The following symptoms may occur after swallowing a button battery:
👉 coughing or noisy breathing
👉 chest pain or grunting
👉 drooling or vomiting
👉 gagging or choking
👉 bleeding or discharge
👉 unexplained food refusal, fever or vomiting
👉 nose bleeds: sometimes this can be blood vomited through the nose
👉 bleeding from the gut: black or red vomits or bowel motions.
