Swallowing button batteries can cause serious harm and can be fatal. The dangers are highlighted in a new medical report about 10 cases at a Utah hospital, including seven that caused severe damage, and also in last week's recall of more than 1 million Chuck E. Cheese battery-operated toys.
Button batteries are widely used in dozens of household products including toys, games, remote controls, musical greeting cards, cell phones, watches and lighted shoes.
Batteries pose a special swallowing risk; even if they don't completely block the throat, they can trigger a chemical process when they lodge there that can burn through tissue within few hours.
Safe Kids Mid-South, led by Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, urges parents and caregivers to keep all batteries and other small objects out of young children's reach.
