tiny batteries mean big choking problem for kids

Liam Howard\'s 6-year-
Sister Grace saved his life.
Twelve months old, curious, Liam has found a way to pop up shiny coins
The shape battery in Grace\'s hand-held digital toy and swallowed it.
\"I don\'t know what he\'s choking on,\" said his 40-year-old mother, Susan Howard . \"
Liam was retching and grabbing his throat, so Susan picked up the children and Grace noticed that her toy was broken on her way to the hospital.
She asked her mother if Liam would be occupied by battery choking.
It was an X.
The hospital\'s rays show that there is a flat disc in Liam\'s esophagus, which is the channel connecting the mouth and stomach.
The battery was removed after three hours but damaged: Liam third time
His esophagus and walls were burned to a great extent.
Liam stayed in the hospital for a month.
He needs a week\'s breathing tube, three weeks of feeding the esophagus, and a couple of follow-up --
He had surgery to expand his esophagus.
\"We are still dealing with this,\" his mother said . \".
\"For at least 18 months he vomited 3 to 4 times a day.
He lost his teeth because of stomach acid.
He has a lot of breathing problems now.
But in general, she thinks her family is lucky.
Liam is doing well now.
For a curious toddler, the home is full of exciting potential toys-from light-
From sneakers to jewelry to greeting cards for singing, remote control and electric toothbrushes.
But these devices, as well as many other power devices found in almost every home, have the potential danger of flat round batteries called button batteries.
Two studies published in the journal Pediatrics, published on Monday, said the alarming increase in the number of battery charges could be serious or even fatal.
These studies provide strong advice on how product designers, parents and doctors can work to make their children safer.
In the past 25 years, the speed at which people accidentally swallow batteries every year has remained more or less the same, fluctuating between the ages of 6. 3 and 15. 1 per million.
However, the percentage of those foods that ended up being serious or fatal increased by 6. 7-
Fold over the period of study.
These numbers come from the National battery intake hotline (NBIH)
This is a service that provides guidance to home and health professionals after the battery is charged. Dr.
Toby litowice, an emergency medical doctor and medical toxicologist in Washington, D. C. C.
She established the Center in 1982, when she realized that there were few guidelines on how to handle battery charging.
\"Most cases have been benign for years,\" she said . \".
The kids will swallow the battery, the battery will go through the stomach, no need to take it out, the kids will do a good job.
She said: \"In the past five years or so, things have changed and we have done about it.
Face because of 20-
As a very popular battery for consumer electronics. \"This coin-
The molded batteries often used in remote controls and other household devices are larger than most of the old \"button batteries\", so it is stuck in the esophagus more frequently.
This is particularly dangerous, says Litovitz, because long contact with the esophageal tissue on the surface of the battery creates an external current.
The battery can then be burned through the wall of the esophagus into any structure next to it.
The results may include damage to the trachea or aorta, the main blood vessel that transports blood from the heart to other parts of the body.
\"The children will bleed,\" said Litovitz . \".
For this reason, it is important for a doctor to identify the problem, if one of these big button batteries is stuck in the esophagus and retrieved quickly with an endoscope, this is a program that uses lighting, flexible instruments.
The authors of the study recommended a goal to remove the battery from the esophagus within two hours of intake.
This can be tricky, especially if no one sees the child swallow the battery with their own eyes.
Symptoms of intake of batteries are not very specific, they are usually the same symptoms as potentially less severe diseases such as hip or stomach viruses.
61, the study found.
8% of children under the age of 6 consume 20-
The MM lithium battery is obtained directly from products such as remote control, toys, hearing aids or personal digital assistants.
In other cases, the children will pick up the loose battery or remove the battery from the original package.
Of the children under the age of 6 who consume large button batteries, 12 years old.
6% have serious problems or deaths.
Susan Howard said: \"Some children die because of this, and I can\'t even imagine life without [US]Liam]
Think about it. it\'s really a battery?
\"The authors of this study recommend several ways to prevent children from taking button batteries.
First, they are calling on home equipment manufacturers to improve the safety of battery boxes.
\"Now the small latch on the remote is really not enough,\" Litovitz said . \".
\"The children have been beating them. \"Dr.
Little Monroe Carell hospital pediatrician Mark Meredith
The Children\'s Hospital at the University of van der Burg agreed.
\"Over the years, there are many different ways to try and protect these batteries on different devices.
If the manufacturer sees all these compartments as children\'s toys that require batteries and holds them with screws, I would be willing to bet that the number of ingestons will decrease.
Another important precaution, the authors of the study say, is that parents have to track the batteries and not let them loose. Dr.
Dale Taylor, a pediatric ear, nose and throat surgeon at the University of van der Burg, saw countless children with injuries on the inside of their noses, putting batteries in their nostrils.
\"A big problem is hearing aids, sometimes children\'s own, and sometimes elderly family members,\" she said.
Because no one knows they are dangerous, parents don\'t even think about it.
\"Like in the esophagus, the battery can burn a hole in the nose tissue.
The authors also recommend battery manufacturers to make the packaging child-resistant.
For doctors, the author would like to get the news that it is more important than ever to remove the battery stuck in the esophagus in a timely manner.
\"I hope we can let the doctors know that they only have two hours,\" Litovitz said . \".
\"When the parents arrive [
Emergency department]They did X.
Ray, they found a pediatric stomach specialist. . .
They need to act quickly.
\"Because if parents do not see intake, the diagnosis is easy to miss, doctors need to be vigilant about the possibility of foreign body intake in young children.
Parents can do something to help prevent the battery from charging, including: storing the battery in invisible places and places where the child is out of reach.
Don\'t let them play with the battery or the object/device that they might get into the battery.
Trying to buy only products with children
Battery resistant room, or battery room that requires special tools such as a screwdriver to open.
When it\'s not possible, it\'s safe to make sure the battery in your home device ---
For example, you can cover the battery box on the remote with strong tape.
Special vigilance against hearing aids;
Family members with hearing aids often remove the battery when removing the hearing aid.
Don\'t try to cause vomiting if your child does swallow the battery.
Call the National battery reception hotline 202-625-3333 (
Or your local poison center. 800-222-1222)immediately.
You may be asked to provide a battery pack or a identification number that matches the battery.
To the nearest emergency department (
Be careful when you get there)--
Please carry it with you if there is battery pack.
Your child needs an X.
Rays to ensure that the battery is not stuck in the esophagus.
Don\'t let your child eat or drink anything before X-
Ray\'s done. the doctor said it\'s okay.
If the battery is in the ear or nose, your child also needs to go to the emergency room.
Do not use ear drops or nasal drops until the child is seen by a doctor.
More tips and information can be found on www. poison. org/battery.