Emergency medicine

Did your child swallow a button battery? Act fast!

Every year 3,500 people in the United States swallow “disc” or “button batteries.” Larger batteries are more dangerous, especially those larger than 20 mm. This includes batteries with these serial numbers: CR2032, CR2025, or CR2016.

Swallowing is especially dangerous for young children as these batteries may get stuck in the throat and esophagus. The battery creates an electrical current and a chemical burn. Burns happen even if the battery is not “leaking” or damaged. Burns can occur as soon as two hours after swallowing.

What to do?

1. 
   Go to an emergency room immediately. An X-ray may be ordered.
2. Do not try and make your child vomit. Do not allow him to eat or drink.
3. Is the battery in the nose or ears? Do not use ear drops. Watch for pain or discharge.
4. Watch for the following:

Prevention:

• Do not insert or change batteries in front of small children.
• Do not store near food (especially finger foods), medicines, or pill containers.
• Always recycle batteries or wrap securely and throw away.
• Keep products with button batteries out of reach of your children. These include:

Remote control	Handheld video game	Keychain
Garage door opener	Flashing jewelry	Toothbrushes
Bathroom scale	Pen lights	Watches
Camera	Digital thermometer	Hearing aid
Singing greeting cards	Cell phone

Treatment:

• Batteries sometimes are removed in the operating room if the child is younger than 6 or if the battery has been in his or her body for more than 4 days.
• Your doctor may say it is okay to wait until the battery is passed in the stool. Medications to soften the stool or cause increased bowel movements are not necessary.

BATTERY HOTLINE 202.625.3333 ~ POISON CONTROL 1.800.222.1222

Useful links from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

• Information from the CPSC on Button Batteries
• Test Your Knowledge (pdf)
• OnSafety Tweets
• View this brief video on how to prevent your children from swallowing button batteries

Content last reviewed: March 2011