Healthy Child Care Programs:

Coin-Sized Lithium Button Batteries Pose Risk to Young Children

Safe Kids Minnesota and Safe Kids Northwest Metro Minneapolis are playing a key role in getting the word out in Minnesota about a new nationwide effort (coordinated by Safe Kids Worldwide with support from Energizer) aimed to raise awareness about the dangers of swallowing coin-sized lithium batteries, used to power an ever-increasing number of devices (e.g. mini remote control devices, flameless candles, bathroom scales, etc.). When a coin-sized button battery gets stuck in a child's throat, the saliva triggers an electrical current and a resulting chemical reaction that can severely burn the esophagus in as little as two hours. Once the burning reaction begins, it can continue even after the battery is removed. In some cases, children who swallowed button batteries have died.

The number of cases where children have been seriously hurt or have died has more than quadrupled in the past five years (2006-2010) compared to the five years prior (2001-2005). In 2010 alone, there were more than 3,500 swallowing cases of all sizes and types of button batteries reported to U.S. poison control centers. The most serious cases are associated with 20 mm diameter batteries, about the size of a nickel, because they can easily get stuck in a small child’s throat. Most often, the batteries children swallow have come out of remote control devices. What adults need to know: Keep devices with button batteries out of reach if the battery compartments aren't secure, and lock away loose batteries. If a child swallows a battery, go to the emergency room right away.