Button batteries, harmful for small children, elderly, and pets

Have you ever noticed the amount of toys or products that use those small harmless looking button batteries? Those flat silver discs used in toys like remote control cars, musical greeting cards, bathroom scales, watches, flameless candles and many other types of home electronics. Some are lithium batteries in which pose the greatest potential for harm. There is an average of 3,500 button battery ingestions reported annually to Poison Control Centers. Swallowing batteries is not a new trend for children, elderly adults, or pets to ingest. The concern is over the years is the development of stronger, larger lithium cell batteries, increases the risk of potential severe complications to the individual following the ingestion. Most parents and adults are unaware of the potential for danger from these little items.

Deaths from battery ingestions are rare, per the poison center information there were 10 documented deaths in the past 6 years. Small children, elderly adults, and pets may view the battery as candy, medication, or food. The greatest concern is if the battery gets lodged in the esophagus. The battery has low voltage current that can be completed if it comes in contact with the right environment (a throat or esophagus), and cause severe damage; burns, erosions. One of the physicians from the Journal of Pediatrics did a test, he uses a hot dog and inserted a button battery in it to get an idea how it would react. The hot dog casing is similar to the esophagus of a human; the battery cooked the hot dog.

Possible complications from an ingestion of the battery, is the risk of getting lodged in the vocal cords or esophagus. This can cause serious injury to the vocal cords and digestive tract. Depending on the size of the battery the greater the risk, the larger the battery increase chance for serious injuries. The button battery has popular appeal and the manufacturing industry has shifted towards using this more frequently. Federal safety rules require toys that use the batteries to have a battery compartment that requires the use of screws as a deterrent for access to children. Unfortunately there are not such regulations or rules for devices intended for adult use, bathroom scales, watches, greeting cards, flameless candles or other electronic devices.

Children and pets will find the battery loose and ingest it without an adult even being aware. The common age of ingestion in children is 6. Elderly adults can also be at risk for ingestion of a button battery, thinking its medication when in fact it may be a hearing aid battery. There is a 2 hour window following battery ingestion before symptoms may be observed before complications can occur. Once burning occurs the damage may continue even when the battery has been removed. A majority of the time the ingestions are not witnessed. Children have been able to breathe with a disc battery in the airway; it is not an obvious ingestion and the child will not appear in distress. Children or pets may present with symptoms that are nonspecific; coughing, wheezing, vomiting, drooling, and refusing to eat are possible symptoms. This can be diagnosed as something else such as stomach flu or pneumonia. Information for handling ingestion in children, elderly, and pets is similar.

Tips for battery safety

• Search your home, and any place a child has potential to go for any device or gadget that may use disc lithium batteries
• Secure disc lithium battery controlled devices out of sight and reach of small children. Keep loose batteries locked up or in a safe area.
• Pass the information on to family members, babysitters, friends, and caregivers these important tips.

What to do is a disc battery has been ingested

• Go to a local emergency room immediately.  Inform health care providers of your concern that your child may have ingested a disc battery; if possible provide the identification number found on the battery package.
• Do not let the child eat or drink anything until a chest x-ray is completed to determine if a battery is present.
• Do not induce vomiting

For more information contact:

• National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 202-625-3333
• Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222

Laundry Detergent Pods- a new danger

The newest trend for washing clothes is a detergent “pod”. All the big named manufactures of laundry detergent are developing “Pods”. The convenience and attractiveness of the product is because it is pre-measured, easy to handle, no spills, and the packaging dissolves in the wash to make the task of laundry easier. Unfortunately these convenient pods present a major problem, they are super attractive to small children, the bright colored packet looks like candy and the container looks like a candy jar. The child can view the pod as a toy to be played with or squeezed. The pods can cause a potential risk for the small child that was not foreseen in the process.

Children biting into the detergent pod develop severe vomiting; some children have become unconscious and ended up in the intensive care units. This is not always the case, but the risk is there. The pods contain a concentrated laundry detergent that is very irritated to the eyes, skin, mouth, and throat. Moisture causes the “pod” casing to dissolve, releasing the ingredients into the mouth. The pod breaks and splashes the child in the eye can cause severe eye irritation. The poison control centers have received numerous calls on exposures to these products. Some of the symptoms can be severe requiring hospitalization. Fortunately no children have died from the exposure.

The manufacturers are attempting to make the containers safer for this product safer by adding a safety latch. The recommendation is to keep the product out of reach of children. The responsibility of safe handling and storage falls on the adults in the child’s home as the method of injury prevention.

Prevention:

• Store the container out of reach children
• Make sure the container is closed
• Do not allow children to handle the “pods”
• Educate the child this is not candy or a toy; it is poison

What to do if a child is exposed:

Ingestion:

• Remove the product from the child’s mouth
• Wipe out the child’s mouth with a wet wash cloth
• Wash the child’s face and hands
• Call the poison control center immediately

Eye exposure:

• Rinse the eye gently with luke-warm water for 15 minutes
• Call the poison control center

Poison danger in the home.

Dangers of accidental poisoning in the home, school, or work is one of the greatest risks for children, pets, or other loved ones. The risk of getting injured increases with the risk of access to the products in the environment, no area is completely child proof. Children have the greatest risks for unintentional poisoning in the home, they are smaller, faster, curious, and more susceptible to the toxins in their home or elsewhere. Children have the natural curiosity and desire to explore increase the potential for harm depending on the environment. A small child learning to climb on chairs demonstrates the risk of exposure to poisons on the counter, cupboards, or closets.

What types of poison do children have a tendency to get into? Most common include household and personal care products, medicine, vitamins, and plants. Other concerns can include lead, carbon monoxide, and other environmental factors. The risk of poisoning to the child depends on the packaging, accessibility, availability, formulation, and the toxicity to the product. The risk of injury decreases with parent awareness, education for prevention and safety, and appropriate interventions by contacting the poison control centers and health providers. The risk of injury decreases with child-resistant packaging, product reformation, and increased parent awareness are key factors for reducing the risk of exposure. 

Changes in health care require the need for prevention to reduce the number of unnecessary trips to the emergency room, urgent care, or health care provider. Health care should focus prevention, illness visits, well child visits, yearly physicals and what can be done to promote the health of the individual. Not everyone is fortunate to have insurance to meet these needs, that is why valuable resources such as the Poison Control Center, Ask a Nurse, and Health Coach can help decrease health care expenses. A visit to the emergency room can cause financial hardship on an individual and family

This blog will focus on providing information and direction on information for prevention of accidental poisoning and resources to parents, health care provider, or other individuals with questions. 

Call your local poison control center- 1-800-222-1222, the national hot line number, it will connect the you directly to your local poison control center based on your area code.

Ask for a free information kit (Lit Kit), magnet, stickers, and informative brochures (poison prevention, toxic plants)

One free tidbit- the poison control center provides free information at no charge to your insurance, the information collected is confidential, and used to help make products safer for our children.