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View Full Version : Australian girl, 4, dies after swallowing button-sized lithium battery



Serpo
2nd July 2013, 04:04 AM
Who would know until its too late...........these things are deadly


Australian girl, 4, dies after swallowing button-sized lithium battery



Child was rushed to Noosa Hospital on the Sunshine Coast Sunday morning
She was suffering from stomach bleeding after swallowing the lithium battery
Staff airlifted her to Royal Brisbane Hospital where she died just hours later
Lithium batteries can be found in everyday household items such as remotes



A four-year-old girl has died from internal bleeding after swallowing a button-sized lithium battery.

The child, from Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, was rushed to her local hospital around 8am Sunday morning with symptoms of stomach bleeding.

Medical staff immediately airlifted the child who was in a critical condition to the Royal Brisbane Hospital where she could receive specialist treatment.

But despite the best efforts of doctors, the toddler died later that afternoon.


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/02/article-2353392-1A9D75B5000005DC-456_634x423.jpg Tragedy: The four-year-old girl from Tewantin was rushed to nearby Noosa Hospital on the Sunshine Coast after swallowing the battery but later died from stomach bleeding


Susan Teerds from Kidsafe Queensland warned that parents must be vigilant in keeping the button-shaped batteries, which are found in many common household items, out of the reach of children.



She told ABC radio: 'When a child swallows a battery it often gets caught in the oesophagus, around the voice box. Once it's been lodged, within an hour, it will start to burn a hole.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/02/article-2353392-1A9D7590000005DC-11_306x221.jpg Potentially lethal: Button-sized lithium batteries are found in many common household items such as remote controls and thermometers

'The saliva actually starts a chemical reaction and burns a hole through the oesophagus and can keep burning a hole into the aorta, through to the spine and whatever else is there.'

Kidsafe Queensland estimates that four children are taken to emergency departments across Australia with button battery-related injuries every week.

Kidsafe has launched a Battery Controlled Campaign to try and make parents aware of the dangers of lithium batteries.

If a child swallows a button battery, it can get stuck in the child's throat and burn through the oesophagus in as little as two hours.

Repairing the damage can require feeding and breathing tubes and multiple surgeries.
If the battery is swallowed completely, it will leak in the stomach, causing internal bleeding.
Lithium batteries are common in toys, remotes and thermometers.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2353392/Australian-girl-4-dies-swallowing-button-sized-lithium-battery.html#ixzz2XsvPv1Pv

madfranks
2nd July 2013, 06:34 AM
Yikes! I never considered how dangerous those could be! I'm going to have to look around my kids' toys to see if any of them have those batteries in them.

Dogman
2nd July 2013, 07:12 AM
Yep, those button battery's are bad news if ingested. There is a bunch of energy in them plus the minerals in them that are not at all healthy.

If at all possible (good luck) try and keep anything that uses this kind of battery from very young kids that are still big on sticking stuff in their mouths. Fully charged (new) battery's have a bite to them if placed in the mouth that will make most kids spit them out, but not all.

gunDriller
2nd July 2013, 07:32 AM
i have about 100 of them. they seem quite inert. i suppose the hydrochloric acid in the stomach could eat through the seal.

personally, i'd be worried about a child choking on them.

Dogman
2nd July 2013, 07:37 AM
Hell due to their size and weight I would be afraid that they (battery) will not pass through the gut and get stuck and just sit there and as gundriller says the acid will eat through the case.....Nasty!