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Among domestic accidents, the ingestion of button batteries by children is a life-threatening emergency. The High Authority for Health and the Society for Clinical Toxicology publish their recommendations on how to react.
In watches, keys, remote controls, toys… Button batteries are everywhere. And with them, the risk for children to swallow them. What are the good reflexes to have in case of ingestion or even suspicion of ingestion? We will explain everything to you.
A potentially deadly risk
You should know that swallowing a button battery is far from trivial. Indeed, they present a potentially fatal risk due to their toxicity linked to the production of very alkaline hydroxide ions which can cause very deep chemical burns in the child’s body. If you notice that a child has ingested a battery, you must react very quickly.
React without delay, at the slightest doubt
“When a button battery is ingested, it can become blocked in the esophagus and cause local burning, the severity of which increases significantly beyond the second hour. The risk is increased if the battery has a diameter greater than or equal to 15 mm and when the child is 5 years old or less. explains the High Authority of Health (HAS).
Even if the risk of ingestion is assumed, you must react very quickly by leaving the child on an empty stomach, without trying to make him vomit and call 15 or a poison control center, in order to receive the first instructions for the management of the child, based on an accurate assessment of his condition.
Multidisciplinary care, without downtime
Once in the emergency room or at the doctor’s, information about the accident must be clearly explained to healthcare professionals, whether they are emergency doctors, anesthesiologists or surgeons. They will be essential to guide them without delay and to ensure their proper coordination in caring for the child.
The chest X-ray, the reference examination
Generally, the first examination performed is a chest X-ray. This will confirm battery ingestion and where it is stuck. A battery stuck in the esophagus is a life-threatening emergency. An upper digestive endoscopy must then be performed without delay since the risk of serious complications, ie severe esophageal burning, is increased beyond 2 hours. If the pile is in the stomach, management must be adapted to each situation, and digestive endoscopy is sometimes necessary.
Tools to help with good reflexes
HAS and the Society for Clinical Toxicology (STC) have carried out this work of recommendations, accompanying it with practical tools for healthcare professionals. They have also developed decision trees that summarize all of the care and that allow it to be viewed at a glance. In addition, two videos have also been produced to explain the mechanism of toxic action of button batteries and their dangerousness.
Finally, the two bodies recommend keeping the general public regularly informed of the risk associated with these batteries. In particular, they invite the authorities to “work with the manufacturers responsible for placing button batteries on the market, including at European level, to promote the manufacture and use of button batteries with a diameter of less than 15 mm, but also to secure devices operating with these Battery“.