I don't care if I am. I could save your child's life

[batterychicken]

I am a colorectal surgeon and we have had to perform 5 emergency operations in 2 weeks related to button batteries but this is so far from the normal, it is increasing exponentially

If you suspect your child or elderly person with dementia or anyone with SEND and who has difficulty communicating has swallowed a button battery and I mean if you even notice the compartment on a battery operated toy or tea light is open and missing and you didn't see you child swallow it. GO IMMEDIATELY TO A&E button batteries and shiny, easy to grab for
Toddler and easy to confuse for tablets for elderly patients

If your child is over the age of 12 months old give 2 teaspoons of honey every 10 mins until you reach hospital. This is crucial and will coat the battery so it doesn't burn the oesophagus or intestines.

Yes it's not ideal if the child needs surgery but there are emergency procedures we can do to minimise risk of aspiration and the risk of aspiration of honey is less than the risk posed of the battery.

In the US, all energiser branded button batteries are coated to taste bitter and covered in a safe dye that dyes the tongue and mouth blue. This is being rolled out the Uk slowly but surely.

There are photos online portraying the damage that honey does to the battery on the slice of ham but it's not to be looked at because the whole point of the honey is to coat the battery and help it not stay too long in one place and move through the digestive tract.

I will also add these absolutely horrific orbeez things to this thread but really they need banning from the world.

If your nursery or child care provider uses them in sensory play, please tell them to stop or move child care providers (hard I know) but orbeez feel brilliant to children and when they have no taste so when they're exploring orally it's very very easy to eat them. And you can't see them on xray until they're a certain size and even then they look like built up gas in the bowel. Obviously if the child has ingested loads then they you see them. However if it's one or 2 they can be tiny when swallowed but they continue to expand and expand, they can case major bowel obstructions.

Please do this. No orbeez and keep and eye out for button batteries (god why are they in so many toys??!)

First photo is a button battery on ham for 30
Mins, second photos is an orbeez removed from
A child and the 3rd shows you how many much they can expand from
The original.

Don't let it impact your life but just keep it at the forefront

If this stops 1 more family from meeting me for surgery on their child then good!

Thank you

Thank you OP for all that you do.
I am a GP in NZ .. it has recently become an issue here.
Nga Mihi

@batterychicken

Thank you so much for this.

I want to say :

1. A lot of Early Years nurseries use Orbeez, or an Amazon equivalent. On Amazon they are sold as florist water balls. They look really fun to play with, and are like little colourful balls filled with water. I had to battle to tell the nursery I worked at to stop using them.

2. A lot of Amazon toys that come from overseas have button batteries without a screwed in compartment - they have a flip opening instead. Also beware of LED fidget spinners. I’m also cautious about the light up balloons that have an LED at the top when they burst??

3. Echo the poster about magnets. E.g if two are swallowed they can attract together in the bowel/create holes.

This is good : capt.org.uk

We had a local case of a child swallowing a button battery about a year before my daughter was born. It was horrifying reading. My mother never got why I was so paranoid about batteries. I didn't know about the orbeez things, very useful to know.

Thanks @batterychicken. I feel grateful for the education that I had when I went to the safety centre at the Royal children’s hospital in Melbourne Australia. It covered many safety hazards around the home which covered button batteries and magnets and how to child proof your home. Education is important.

Thank you pp on the info on magnets.

I was very careful to avoid any products with button batteries. I’d rather be safe than sorry and prevention is better than cure.

Thank you for taking the time to post this, really valuable information

I don't think they are used in settings now.

We had an alert email a few weeks ago saying any water beads or expanding beads must be removed immediately and they are not to be used and it was because of this exact issue.

Well done OP for such an informative post.

I'd also add mini magnets to that too. I don't know how much damage they do but they are everywhere and cannot be great if swallowed?!

Thank you - I will spread the word amongst friends

I knew about this but not the honey thing. Great tip thanks

Thank you. I never knew this and will share the info with those with small children..

I’m shocked by the increase in size of the orbeez. Scary! Thank you

Thanks OP. Very scary pictures.

Thank you! I'm so worried about button batteries (I have a 5yo with PICA who is autistic and non verbal) especially with christmas coming up as they seem to be in everything. Had no idea about the honey! We have banned orbeez from our home after our paediatrician warned us about them!

Thank you op

I’d not heard of orbeez, terrible if they are in nurseries

My son swallowed one of these when he was just over a year old. I was visiting my parents and he was eating chocolate buttons, then my dad changed over some old batteries (luckily they were old) and my son mistook one for a chocolate button. I noticed it had vanished and immediately panicked, we went to hospital with him and they scanned him, they could see it on the x ray and advised for him to drink milk and to keep checking his nappy (this was in 1989 so may be different advice now)...when I took him home and gave him milk, I looked and noticed his stools had turned black, so we went back to the hospital, they scanned him again and saw that the battery had opened, but luckily his next nappy change it was there and no ill effects (he is in his thirties now) but it was a scary time and I had no idea how dangerous they were. The black motions indicated he had a bleed internally.

@batterychicken thanks for the honey tip - I've googled to check (because I don't know you are who you say you are of course!) and you are right. But why only children over 12 months? I know there's a botulism risk with honey under 12m, but surely the small risk is worthwhile in the face of huge and certain risk from the button battery? Is there more to it, or is it just that the NHS can't officially recommend spooning honey into your 9m old because they'd get sued, but actually if it was their own child most doctors would definitely use it?

Thank you so much for this!

Wrt button batteries, especially at this time of year, lots of battery operated tea lights use button batteries and because they're not toys very little thought goes into how easily accessible they are but because they are the safe version of a traditional tea light, the are considered harmless and left in reach of toddlers.

I'm sure you're right, on balance of risks I would 100% be giving an under 1 honey in these circumstances.

Thank you

Thank you so much,

Let's hope the media pick this message up.

Thank you, adding a post to keep it trending.

Thank you.

My kids are adults so the button batteries weren't really a thing when they were tiny. I knew about batteries in general, but by bizarre coincidence, a friend was visiting just a week ago who has grandchildren and dogs and spotted one outside my back door in the communal garden that someone had dropped which she picked up immediately because there have been cases of pets swallowing them too apparently, and there are people with animals in my block.

So not unreasonable at all, especially for children - and also animals - thank you.

@batterychicken Thank you so much for the post.

With the Orbeez - my nephew uses water beads and loves them. It says online that they are non toxic and break down in the gastrointestinal tract if swallowed.

From Google - "All genuine Orbeez are non-toxic, do not clump and are expected to breakdown in gastro fluid"

Is this not true? Or is it that people are buying cheap knock-offs of these which are dangerous?

They really are a lovely creative toy and my nephew loves them so I just wanted to check before recommending that he doesn't have them! (he has a little brother who is probably a little old to be swallowing things, but could potentially).