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!

Just bumping this after Christmas and all the new button battery powered toys are around the house

Just bumping this as it’s so important. Energiser have started coating button batteries in a bitter coating and they also turn the mouth blue if accidentally swallowed

@batterychicken Shamelessly hijacking your thread (great advice! Mine are older now but my autistic son would put everything in his mouth so he had a dummy in to protect him).. ok sorry I'm just so miserable about pre coloscopy diet. Can I add a tiny bit of garlic to the pasta/ white bread? 3 days is a long time with no flavours and I just don't feel like eating.

Not really as it contributes to excess gas and can cause more pain. I know it’s depressing as hell! This is my thread I just lost my log in details and made a new account 😳 technologically challenged doesnt cover it !

@arcticpandas, can't you stir in a bit of philly? You can get a chicken flavoured Bovril - so very pale. That was quite good when I did similar prep. You can add a spoonful to the pasta water for a bit of flavour.

If it's just a "gas" problem then it's fine. I constantly have a chewing gum in my mouth since I stopped smoking 10 years ago so a bit of garlic won't change that😅. I just don't want a little garlic piece (that probably will be flushed out with the laxative liquid anyway) to mess up the investigation. As for technologically challenged, join the club😄..

I’m bumping this thread because Christmas is coming up. I will be bumping this thread until I fill it with 1000 posts if needed.

Thanks sellotape, helping your bump.

capt.org.uk/button-battery-safety/

Bump please read

Bump

That is excellent news, hope other battery manufacturers take note.

The bitter coating is a great idea. Mind you, my DH used to dry swallow his tablets very rapidly so he might still have swallowed that battery...

Fortunately for us, the only negative outcome was having to spend time in A&E and I never made the mistake of putting a hearing aid battery on his table again.

It’s such a good idea isn’t it?

It really is.

My husband is very adamant on no button batteries

YANBU

The last time this was posted it was by a GP I think, or maybe a surgeon? Someone medical anyway, she said she'd give a baby honey herself, the risks don't compare! But tends to cautious online because some people will start just giving their baby honey!

@batterychicken

its great to have this posted. It has been done several times in the past, but not everyone reads the thread & new people join all the time.

the photos are necessary because people don't realise how big those beads get!

people talking about getting them in huge bags & putting them in large baby baths/small paddling pools for the kids to sit in & play 😱

Thank you for sharing this

I am the op. I am a colorectal surgeon, I deregged after having a social media cleanse and then saw this on my feed again and realised I needed to continue posting this post on the run up to Christmas. Can’t use the same name as the account is gone so I went with sellotapechicken as I was looking in the drawer of doom next to the batteries for sellotape and thought it was a similar name !

I would give a child honey personally because the risk of botulism is so much less than the risk of a button battery burning a hole in your intestines

@AutumnLeaves24 I think Orbeez need to be banned immediately; they make me feel sick even looking at them small and not inflated.

if you want to give your child a nice watery sensory experience you can use flower oasis as you can fill it with water and they can squeeze it out etc but if it goes in the mouth it reacts a bit like sand so they usually spit it out. I’ve never yet seen a child ingest flower oasis and need to have surgery to remove it.. however I’ve removed countless orbeez.

I wonder if the increase of buying random cheap light up/sensory etc toys from tiktok shop etc are causing the increase

Can I ask a question about my nephew please ? He's 7 and for a couple of years he is having trouble controlling his bowels and has regressed to needing nappies. The doctor said he likely has a blockage and this is causing diarrhea and to just wait, and see but he has not been offered any scans ? I feel he is being neglected medically can I have your opinion on this ?

Glad you're back!

it definitely needs reposting regularly. Someone new sees it every time! Maybe changing the thread title each time might attract new readers too.

its a very important message.💕

I can’t give medical advice as I’m not his dr, however constipation does cause diarrhoea as the blockage causes over flow diarrhoea. I would expect him to be on a a laxative disimpaction regime with lots of laxatives to clear it all out and reset his bowel. It takes far longer than parents expect though depending on the size of the blockage. I’d also have a look at the Eric website https://eric.org.uk/ and see if you can chat to the gp after having a look at that? Hope he gets sorted soon

Yeah they are most definitely NOT safe for children.

I don't know which bunch of idiots thought that they'd change the use from flowers to toys. Someone with only ££££ in mind.

The blue dye & coating in button batteries is a step in the right direction. Hopefully worldwide before long. I wonder what the best way to get pressure out in battery manufacturers is?