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!

Brilliant post. Thank you for sharing the dangers. I didnt know about orbeez either. My 5 year old son received a small plastic light up ring from trick or treating last week with tiny button batteries in that was so easy to open - batteries not even behind a screwed in cover! I told him it was very dangerous to swallow the batteries and he could only wear it whilst I was with him and never to put it near his mouth. He immediately told me he didn’t want it and wouldn’t wear it. Safe to say the ring is no longer in the house. So glad the message went in. He’s a chewer too. Will be showing my kids the photos and telling them the water beads. Never liked the bloody things.

Thank you so much.

Is there any chance she could be persuaded into using rechargable hearing aids? They are available on the NHS, I have them and they are soo much better than the battery ones.

This is the best and most informative post I've ever seen on Mumsnet. You should be very proud of yourself 🙏🏻

Orbeez are also called water beads - they are really popular on instagram etc.

Thank you! I had a long talk with my son as he kept leaving the battery covers off of compartments of toys and items that held button batteries. He didn't see a danger. ARGH!

Thank you for this education. I hope you can write a piece that gets shared widespread across social media

I see the Orbeez things are advertised as "non-toxic", which whilst it is possibly technically true, is bound to mislead people into thinking they're "safe". They are labelled as for 5+, but people won't necessarily realise that's a safety matter rather than just the age that might most enjoy them.

Thank you OP

also repeating a PP’s addition of small magnet toys

Does it also apply to hearing aid batteries?

Noted! Thanks

Yes

It was a hearing aid battery that nearly did for my husband.

Excellent post, thank you for taking the time to give this advice. My DS is 20 and still moans that I wouldn’t let him play with magnet toys like Knex. I had seen a surgeon describe how attracting magnets in the intestines are like gunshot wounds. I think it is ludicrous that they could ever be considered safe toys.

🙏🏼

I think you mean magnetix? I don't think any of DDs k'nex had magnets, and it's not for little kids - it's a really good construction system IME which it'd be a shame to put people off by mistake.

Bump, very important thread!

Scarily common problem, that can have devastating consequences. So much so that last year the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit had every paediatrician in the country reporting every case they saw of button battery ingestion, along with size of battery and whether it passed through naturally or needed surgery, to try to get as much data as possible on best treatments and outcomes.

Thankyou from a mother of 4.
Knew about the batteries but not the honey.
Will be putting it on my shopping list for tomorrow.
Never knew about orbeez. Have had them in the past but heavy handed child wrecked them and had no plans to ever get again.

Will also be spreading the word. You have potentially saved lots of lives.

This is so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Let’s hope we all never have to experience this.

Thanks you! Noted - for the grandparents as well as kids.

I'm a childminder, i once bought a huge supply of those orbeez balls on Ebay, fortunately I read about the dangers before using them with the little ones so I didn't use them but I'd only bought them as I'd seen many others post pictures of their mindees playing with them!!
Button batteries I've always known the risk, it's scary how easily accessible they are in some products, and how often they are used in children's toys. I try and avoid buying anything that I can see has them and stick to things that use regular batteries but they are in my car keys, our digital kitchen scales and some of my Christmas decorations!

Button batteries are OK if the compartment can only be opened with a screwdriver. It's cheap imported flimsy toys that people need to beware of as they often won't comply with any UK/EU safety laws.

Thank you

Thank you,