MONTREAL, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A child ingesting the button batteries used in greeting cards, baby books, watches, toys and cameras needs immediate attention, a Canadian researcher warns.
"I've seen the effects ingesting a button battery can have on a child. This is not something parents and healthcare providers should take lightly," Dr. Sam Daniel of The Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre says in a statement.
"Button batteries in the wrong place can be potentially fatal or can cause long term damage. If you child ingests a button battery, it is a medical emergency your child needs to be seen immediately."
Button batteries are tiny, round and shiny, which makes them very attractive and noticeable to children who often readily and eagerly play with them and inadvertently stick them in their ears or nose or swallow them, Daniel says.
"At The Montreal Children's Hospital we treat approximately 12 children a year who have ingested button batteries and we tend to see a spike in the numbers around the holiday season. The average age is between 1 and 2," Daniel says. "It doesn't take long for the battery to start corroding in as little as three hours, significant damage can occur."
Some children can develop long-term complications including having a tracheostomy-tube or gastrostomy-tube dependence, vocal paralysis, hearing loss or nose deformity.
