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Caught my toddler waving around a pack of button batteries … now freaking out

13 replies

Vkd1991 · 02/10/2025 22:31

My 18 months old and I were hanging out in my office this evening playing around on my piano. We don’t often hang out in there. She went behind me to my desk while I was playing piano and I didn’t think much of it. After max a minute, more likely 20 seconds I turn around and she’s found this bag that contains packs of button batteries and is waving one pack in the air (I didn’t even know that bag existed.) some of the packet had been open with batteries missing but I couldn’t tell you how many were accounted for as I think this bag is from like 2020. The only ones we thought could potentially be a problem were the alkaline L344 1.5v batteries as they had the most used. However, she didn’t at all look like she had put anything in her mouth. Likeliness if she had she would have made a weird noise or run away from me with it in her mouth which she does with rocks. The logical part of me knows that the chances of her ingesting it in that small period of time is very low and only plausible if a battery had been lose in the bag but there was a lot of other bits and bobs in the bag and she was very much playing with the pack on the top making me think she had just found it. However, it has been over 3 hours (my child is now peacefully sleeping, and acted completely normal before bed) and I have gone into an absolute stress spiral of what ifs! It’s been 3 hours and she’s shown no symptoms at all. Even if by the off chance that she did swallow something, would she be showing symptoms by now if it was dangerous? I know the big danger is if it gets lodged in the trachea and Oesophagus but I feel like we would have noticed discomfort from her by now if that was the case.

OP posts:
upintheloft · 02/10/2025 22:36

I’m sorry I think this is one of those that if you are even in the tiniest doubt that she may have swallowed one the best thing would be take her to A&E or at least call 111. When my boy was in hospital (unrelated) some awful cases of kids coming in were from swallowing those as they burn through the lining of the stomach. If you have any doubt at all I would get her checked

Becausemymumtoldmeso · 02/10/2025 22:41

Hi, I work in a&e- wake her up immediately- give her a pig spoon of honey and take her to the hospital asap- sometimes kids DONT have symptoms at all, yet the battery can burn through slowly but yes- this is 100% a hospital job im afraid, even if you are 99% sure she didn’t I still wouldn’t Rick that 1% mum xx

welshweasel · 02/10/2025 23:01

Agree with @Becausemymumtoldmeso- you really cannot take a chance with this. You need to wake her and go to A&E please. Button batteries can kill small children - they stick in the lower oesophagus and erode through the wall. Go now please.

apapuchi · 02/10/2025 23:08

Echoing that you should go to A&E, I know it's one of those things you maybe second guess as the time was so short, you think you'd know if she was holding something in her mouth etc but you can't know and balancing things up going to A&E for a false alarm is just so many millions of times better than the other possible outcome.

thishouseisashittip · 02/10/2025 23:18

Going to another one here saying go to A&E. It's not worth the risk, like pp said just that 1% doubt.
Years ago we were in Halfords pushing middle DD in her pram (she's 25 now) next thing we know she is holding a packet of button batteries which was open with at least one missing. We went straight to A&E and she had an X-ray. Thankfully all good. You cannot imagine the relief we felt once we 100% knew she hadn't swallowed one. And the staff said we had done the right thing taking her in.

nocoolnamesleft · 02/10/2025 23:19

Blood just ran cold. Definitely A&E.

titchy · 02/10/2025 23:21

Fuck me I'm as lackadaisical as they come but even I’d be down ER. Choking is not the risk. Battery acid is.

WetBandits · 02/10/2025 23:28

I’m a nurse, and I’d be taking her to A&E. She probably hasn’t swallowed one, but ‘probably’ just wouldn’t be enough for me to take that risk. Button batteries scare the shit out of me. Incidentally, I had to buy some today to change my car key fob battery and I’m already antsy about having them in the house with my baby, so I left them in my glovebox!

ohfook · 02/10/2025 23:29

Weirdly a friend was in this exact situation a few days ago. She went to A&E and was told you would know if they’re swallowed a battery because they would start showing symptoms pretty soon after. Obviously I’m not placed to give medical advice - I’m just repeating something I was told!

StrawberryJangle · 02/10/2025 23:33

Agree with the concensus. You have to get this checked out immediately. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

They'll see a little one quite quickly in AandE. Good luck.

Infracat · 02/10/2025 23:56

When my son was little he had a number of hexbugs all with those little button batteries in. Anyway, one night he woke at 3am crying. He told us he'd swallowed a hexbug battery. My partner took him straight to A&E. They xrayed him and luckily there was nothing there. He'd had a bad dream. But we couldn't take the risk. I'd take your child to hospital just incase. Better to be safe than sorry.

Vkd1991 · 03/10/2025 00:49

Update: we took her to a&e did an xray and all fine

OP posts:
Julsey07 · 03/10/2025 08:42

Great news - we were all rooting for your little one

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