The CHRU of Lille and the Regional Health Agency of Hauts-de-France call on adults to be extra vigilant regarding the risks of ingesting “button” batteries, present in many children’s toys.
Button batteries, small round and flat objects, are present in a large number of toys. In the middle of Christmas, the CHRU of Lille and the Regional Health Agency of Hauts-de-France are launching an appeal to alert parents to the risks incurred in the event of ingestion of these batteries.
Last year, a two-year-old child died from swallowing a button battery. Received in the emergency room of the Lille CHRU, the child lost his life following the damage created by the battery in his body.
This incident is unfortunately far from isolated. In 2017, a three-year-old girl swallowed a lithium battery that attacked her digestive tract. After months of treatment, and despite a remission that allowed her to return home, she ultimately did not survive.
“There are also 1,200 visits to the emergency room in France for ingestion or suspected ingestion”, indicates the Regional Health Agency of Hauts-de-France.
Dial 15 as soon as possible
The hand spinner, a very fashionable toy that comes in the form of a connected hand spinner, is often named as the main culprit of button battery accidents in children. Button batteries are also found in many other electronic toys (music books, cars) as well as TV remote controls.
These small batteries contain very toxic substances which can be released into the esophagus and within a few hours cause life-threatening injuries in the stomach wall, even in the absence of symptoms.
Children victims of ingestion of these batteries are mostly aged between 0 and 5 years. If ingested, adults present at the time of the incident should immediately call a poison control center or dial 15 as soon as possible.
Even if the battery has been removed or eliminated spontaneously, a doctor should be consulted if the following symptoms appear in the days or weeks following ingestion of a battery: refusal to eat, vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing , black stools.
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