A few days ago I heard a story about the damage that a girl had suffered when swallowing a battery of this type and I wanted to investigate a little about why swallowing a button battery is so dangerous.
One of the biggest risks for children is the accidental ingestion of foreign bodies, and the button cells are among those bodies. They are found in many elements of habitual use, such as watches, cameras, toys, controls ...
Pediatrics magazine published a descriptive study, conducted in the US, that analyzes the cases detected over 20 years. The concern arose mainly because the greater domestic use of 20 mm lithium batteries (37.7% were in remote controls) was observed, which are also the ones that produce the greatest damage, including death.
This is mainly because of its larger size. they stay in the esophagus when they are swallowed by the child, and in less than two hours produce severe burns by the chemical reactions that trigger.
The button cell is an electric battery in a metal disk-shaped container with a metal case, and its name comes from the similarity, in size and shape, with a button. The batteries contain mercury, zinc, silver oxide, lithium, and sometimes sodium or potassium hydroxide.
If the battery is opened, toxic or very corrosive material can be released, which could cause mucosal necrosis where it is lodged when ingested, in the trachea, in the stomach ... They can also cause decubitus lesions (pressure against the skin reduces watering blood to the area and the affected tissue dies) or low voltage electrical burns.
If the baby or child has swallowed a button cell battery in the hospital, an endoscopic extraction is usually performed (it is achieved up to 99% of the time). Foreign bodies can be located in the upper digestive tract when accidentally or deliberately ingested. Of the foreign bodies ingested, 90% pass to the digestive tract and 10% to the bronchial tracheal tree.
If the battery is in the stomach or intestine, x-rays are usually taken to assess its progression. If it remains in the stomach for more than 36 to 48 hours, it is extracted endoscopically.
There are other alternative procedures to endoscopy to remove the foreign body, such as Foley probes and the use of magnets, but now they have gone to the background in view of the greater efficacy and safety of endoscopy.
Cases of nasal septum perforation by introduction of the battery in the nose.
Prevention: batteries out of reach of children
The best treatment is prevention, parents must be aware of the risk of handling this type of material by children. Therefore they must be out of reach of children. Some general advice in this regard, of which we have spoken to you on previous occasions, are:
Keep out of reach of children the button batteries and the objects that contain them (remote controls and other objects carrying deboton batteries).
Check that the battery cover is properly closed and, if it is damaged or broken, make sure it is properly closed (for example, with a strong adhesive tape).
Do not leave any button cell batteries, including used and recyclable, loose on any surface.
Do not let children play with button batteries.
The fact that the symptoms can be very nonspecific in the beginning, added to the fact that in most cases the ingestion of the batteries was not witnessed, can delay the diagnosis and, therefore, worsen the prognosis. If we see or suspect that the child has swallowed a button cell We must go immediately to the Emergency Department.
