PSA regarding "button" batteries!

mcarter127

PSA for all moms of toddlers! We just spent the last 24 hrs in the hospital because my almost 2 year old DS swallowed one of those "button" batteries from a toy. It is out now buthe still may have damage because the battery completely broke down while it was inside of him!! He also has to be checked for lead poisoning in a few wks. I'm sure he will be ok but this has been absolutely awful & terrifying! PLEASE sweep your house & look for anything that takes these batteries to make sure they're very secure! He got a hold of it while I was right there but I just couldn't get there in time! These are so scary & they're in EVERYTHING, even those musical greeting cards have them. The last 24 hrs has been so scary!

blueshirt2003

That's scary!

ToastieSimons

Oh I sure hope your little guy is okay.  I'm surprised he got a hold of one.  All of the toys for DS have screws in the battery compartment.  As auntie said, if it was a toy I would report it.

MamatoJackson

So sorry!  One of dh's nephew (3 years old) found a watch battery while playing at the park and, unbeknownst to his parents, stuck it in his nose.  It was in for several days before they knew there was a problem.  It completely corroded the cartilage in his nose and he had to have several surgeries to repair.  Very scary!!

torrey111

that is horrible- glad he is on the mend!  Can I just ask...how did he get it?  Was he able to get it out of a toy?

There was just an article in my local paper about button batteries specifically.  It warned that both toddlers and seniors are prone to swallowing them- toddlers because of the obvious, but seniors because they mistake it for one of their many pills.

It also said that it can be hard to know that that is the issue at hand as the symptoms mimic the flu.

 

mcarter127

It was from a little toy flashlight. It did have a screw in the bottom but the screw malfunctioned, allowing the battery compartment to come open! At first we couldn't find the screw either so we thought he'd swallowed both! We later were able to find it & obviously the screw didn't show up on X-ray. He was probably all of 10 feet away from me & I knew he was playing with it but had no idea he could get it open! Thank god it didn't stay in longer than it did, it was in there less than 24 hrs & completely corroded & we won't know how much damage to his gut for weeks! His poop is completely black right now from the bleeding & irritation, which freaks me out! Thanks for all the well wishes, this has been a nightmare!

Florak8

Poor little guy and poor mama. That must have been so scary. DS received a flashlight and tap light for Christmas (he loves turning things off and on, and loves lights) so I will check those tonight. Thanks for the warning. I am so glad you were on the ball and figured out what happened so quickly.

IndyPRGirl

I was the trauma coordinator at a Level 1 Children's ER and Trauma Center...any button battery ingestion is recommended by the "trauma gods" to be paged out as a LEVEL 1 trauma...we were required to page it as a level one.  

They can get ugly in a hurry. 

BE CAREFUL