Parents warned after girl’s battery death

AAP
July 02, 2013

SAFETY experts are trying to educate parents about the dangers of button batteries after the death of a young girl who swallowed one.

Specialists tried desperately to save the four-year-old after she was taken to a hospital on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Sunday with stomach bleeding.

But there was little that could be done for her.

Safety experts say they’re worried parents don’t fully understand the dangers in so many household items.
Kidsafe Queensland says an estimated four children a week are rushed to emergency departments across Australia each week after swallowing the batteries.

The biggest danger is when parents don’t realise their child has swallowed a button battery, which tends to lodge in kids’ throats.

Often parents can simply think their child is coming down with something, with symptoms including vomiting, coughing, abdominal pain and fever.

“Once stuck, damage starts to occur after one to two hours,” Kidsafe Queensland chief executive Susan Teerds says.

“If the ingestion is not recognised, the battery can erode through into vital organs, causing catastrophic damage and sometimes death.”

The damage the batteries do is terrible.

Saliva immediately triggers an electrical current, causing a chemical reaction that begins to burn through tissue.

Safety campaigners want parents to realise how common these batteries are around the home, powering everything from bathroom and kitchen scales to hearing aids, MP3 speakers and musical greeting cards.

Kidsafe advises parents to check devices they believe may carry button batteries, and ensure battery compartments are secure.

Spare batteries should be kept up high, like poisons and medications, and old batteries must be carefully discarded as they still have enough charge to do very serious damage.

Immediate hospital care is needed if a child is suspected of swallowing one.
AAP