Button batteries are sending more children to the ER than recent years, study finds

New study shows an increasing number of emergency room visits from children who swallowed button batteries

The number of children being sent to the emergency room after swallowing small lithium batteries – also known as “button” batteries – has more than doubled in the last decade, a new study has found.

A report published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics found that, between 2010 and 2019, more than 70,000 children visited the ER, due to injuries from swallowing or inserting button batteries into the mouth, the nose or the ears. That’s compared to about 68,000 pediatric battery-related incidents from 1990 to 2009.

Researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and non-profit organisation Safe Kids Worldwide also revealed that every 75 minutes, a child 18 years old or younger in the United States visited an ER for a battery-related injury within the last decade. Among cases where battery type was known, button batteries accounted for 85 per cent of injuries.

“Button batteries remain a serious hazard in the home that can cause severe, and even life-threatening, injury if swallowed by a child,” said Dr Gary A Smith, co-author of the study and professor of pediatrics at Ohio State University.

These small, round and shiny batteries are used to power a number of small electronics that can be found in homes, including remotes, toys, watches, hearing aids and flashlights. Button batteries, which can often be easily removed from devices, pose a serious risk when ingested because they can burn through a child’s esophagus, leading to life-threatening injuries or even death. According to the study, 12 per cent of battery exposures resulted in immediate hospitalisation.

“Unfortunately, past prevention efforts have yet to lead to significantly reduced injury rates,” said Mark Chandler, lead author of the study and senior research associate with Safe Kids Worldwide. “Both regulatory efforts and increased public awareness of the hazards are needed. Until secure battery compartment designs and ultimately a safer button battery technology are widely adopted by industry, these injuries in children will continue.”

In 2017, the Consumer Product Safety Commission approved new guidelines and testing standards for button battery-powered devices. Earlier this month, Congress unanimously passed Reese’s Law, which requires manufacturers to include a warning label instructing customers to keep the batteries out of the reach of children.

Following the new study, Safe Kids Worldwide issued several recommendations for parents and caregivers to help reduce battery-related injuries. Safety advocates warned parents to keep button battery-controlled devices out of sight and reach of children, especially those ages five and under. Parents should also make sure that a device’s button battery is securely contained within a battery compartment, and closed with a screw so that it’s difficult for children to access.

If a child has ingested a button battery, some of the symptoms might look like a cold, such as fever, sore throat, or difficulty breathing. In the case that a child has swallowed a battery, Nationwide Children’s Hospital recommends giving a child who is 12 months or older two teaspoons of honey every 10 minutes, before taking them to the emergency room.