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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

aibu to be this worried about button batteries?

26 replies

ItsAllAboutTheCakes · 04/01/2016 19:49

Dh thinks I'm going crazy, I read about a little girl who sadly passed away recently after swallowing a button battery. I never knew they were so dangerous and after reading about it have been going round the house checking remotes, toys, torches etc..
Last week ds was at his nans and she has a little flashing cup that has these batteries in and they've actually come loose on one occasion and I've just put them back in and put the cover on Shock.
After reading how dangerous they are I feel awful but I'm paranoid that ds maybe swallowed one somehow without me noticing. My nan has these things in loads of stuff, hearing aids, remotes, the cup...
We've not been round there for about 8 days. Would he be sick by now if he'd eaten one?
I might add I've got an anxiety disorder so sorry if I sound crackers.

OP posts:
JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/01/2016 19:54

It is scary but if he'd swallowed one you'd know about it by now.

YANBU, we don't have them where the toddler can reach them at all, and the toys that do have them in can only be opened with a screwdriver

ottothedog · 04/01/2016 19:55

You would know by now

It is pretty scary though.

Helloitsme90 · 04/01/2016 19:57

Yanbu. Once it's swallowed you have to act quick I don't even know what would happen when you got to the hospital? But yes they are EXTREMELY dangerous. We have one in a musical wedding card. It is always out of reach of LO

JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/01/2016 19:57

Just reading a bit more about it - it seems that it's most dangerous when it's the larger ones that can get stuck in the throat.

Original poster
ItsAllAboutTheCakes · 04/01/2016 19:58

Yeah I have been through all of his and his sisters toys today and made sure they're secured in a screw locked compartment, put any others out of reach and ditched and things in with them loose (I had two in my kitchen scales with just a latch back)
It's scary how much stuff they're actually in. They should be banned from kids toys and have screw backs on all gadgets with them in IMO I feel so rediculous for never even thinking that they might be so dangerous, they are a battery after all!

OP posts:
BillBrysonsBeard · 04/01/2016 19:59

You are not crackers, they are dangerous and just the right size for swallowing. It is scary! Thankfully most things we have use normal batteries but there is the odd thing that uses these.

Wolfiefan · 04/01/2016 20:00

This is your anxiety disorder. This is disordered thinking.
Don't let a small child suck on a device that has these batteries but going round the house and hunting them out is excessive.
Are you getting help for your anxiety?

MintyBojingles · 04/01/2016 20:00

YANBU the thought of a toddler swallowing one is terrifying. However you'd know if he'd swallowed one by now.

Comb the house, and explain to others how dangerous they are so they can be kept out of reach.

Original poster
ItsAllAboutTheCakes · 04/01/2016 20:03

No I don't have any help for my anxiety Wolfe I've not been too bad for a few years now and have been managing on my own but I think with everything going on in the news and the world right now it's made me a little more on edge than usual.

OP posts:
NotSkinnyYet · 04/01/2016 20:05

YANBU.

We bought DS (almost 3) a nightlight of a character from one of his favourite cartoons as a stocking filler. We didn't realise until we looked at the packaging it had the button batteries. I was a bit on edge but thought as long as it was kept out of reach that everything should be fine as the case was secured by a screw. Two days later I cam upstairs to find the light on the floor with one of the three batteries lying next to it. I seriously went into a blind panic searching for the other two batteries and felt sick even after I'd found them.

Apparently DD2 (5) had decided to give DS the nightlight while all DC were upstairs playing just before teatime. I don't know how the screw came loose and I haven't found that yet, but I dread to think what could have happened had DS decided to put the batteries in his mouth and swallow them. They are very scary batteries.

Cerseirys · 04/01/2016 20:08

My brother swallowed one when he was about 6 months old. My mum still has the X-ray where you can see it shining in his stomach. He passed it out in a day or so and is now a healthy 27 year old man

Wolfiefan · 04/01/2016 20:36

So seek help for it? You need strategies to cope with the anxiety.

TheCarpenter · 04/01/2016 20:41

So seek help for it? You need strategies to cope with the anxiety.

Aye, the NHS is just begging to dole out mental health services.

Skullyton · 04/01/2016 21:05

please tell me you didnt ditch your kitchen scales? How often do your children get the batteries out of those?

JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/01/2016 22:14

www.scarymommy.com/2-year-old-dies-after-swallowing-a-lithium-battery/?utm_source=FB

This just popped up on my FB. It's not anxiety to go round your house making sure your child can't get hold of these batteries. It's as sensible as making sure that potentially dangerous household chemicals are out of the reach of children

JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/01/2016 22:18

...but things like your scales could just go in a high cupboard, rather than the bin Smile

blaeberry · 04/01/2016 22:20

Jareth the risk is not in choking on them but rather they can cause very nasty burns.

blaeberry · 04/01/2016 22:21

Though choking is a risk as well...

JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/01/2016 22:24

Well, part of the risk is that the larger ones can get stuck in the oesophagus and cause irreparable damage.

Angelika321 · 04/01/2016 22:24

My heading aids contain these batteries and it terrifies me because my 8yo DC with ASD loves nothing more than to chew on batteries. They need to be stored with the battery compartment open to retain the battery life. I'm new to them and am terrified that I'll leave them lying around and forget to put them away safely.

bigbluebus · 04/01/2016 22:30

DD was in hospital once and a boy came in who had swallowed about 4 of these batteries. He thought it was funny - until the nursing sister put him straight and called him a stupid boy Grin He was about 11 or 12 years old, so should have known better. The batteries could be clearly seen on his x-ray (the light box where they looked at x-rays was just outside the bay DD was in). Can't remember what happened - he seemed perfectly healthy and was walking around. I think they just waited for nature to take it's course. The main danger is probably if the batteries are accidentally stuck in the airway (I'm not a medic ) so from that point of view they pose the same danger as a bead or a nut or any other small object which you would keep away from a small child.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/01/2016 22:35

It's if they get stuck in the airway/oesophagus. Obviously the choking hazard is a danger, but the chemical reaction caused when they get lodged can cause awful burns, can burn through the tissue and lead to uncontrollable bleeding. The smaller ones are more likely to pass through.

As I understand it, anyway.

Original poster
ItsAllAboutTheCakes · 04/01/2016 22:45

Thanks for your replies everyone. Scary how many things there are to worry about!

OP posts:
Furiosa · 04/01/2016 22:46

Jareth is right. This isn't just a choking risk as the batteries themselves cause a chemical reaction when ingested, which can be fatal or cause life-changing injuries.

puddingbrains · 04/01/2016 22:53

cakes, I've spoken about this on here before, I've got terrible anxiety, and button batteries were one of my recent fixations. I was checking all the toys and checking their battery compartments. They are in loads of toys. As a pp said, the risk is a large battery (usually 2cm and above) becoming lodged in the airway. The acid released can eat into the oesophagus and then blood vessels causing internal bleeding. The thing about anxiety is that once you've finished worrying about batteries, it will be something else, then something else then something else. Although it's serious things that cause anxiety, it can become blown out of proportion and take over your life. Are your anxieties usually focused on your family?

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