Warning about button cell batteries
Expert at Freiburg University Medical Center points out the great dangers of button cell batteries for children and calls on device manufacturers to take better safety precautions
They are small and round, but can still be life-threatening: button cell batteries. They are used in technical devices such as fairy lights and children's toys, which are often found on the gift table at Christmas. If they are swallowed, they can get stuck in the oesophagus and cause considerable damage. The Freiburg University Medical Center therefore warns against these batteries.
"If a child swallows a button cell battery, action must be taken quickly. The battery can cause devastating burns to the mucous membrane within a very short time," says Prof. Dr. Patrick Gerner, Senior Consultant and Head of the Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of General Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the Freiburg University Medical Center. This is because contact with the moist mucous membranes results in a flow of electricity, which causes the damage. Injury is unavoidable, especially with larger batteries with a diameter of two centimeters and a voltage of three volts. Inflammation, constrictions or even a breakthrough are the result.
Slight discomfort, vomiting, loss of appetite, fever or coughing can be the first signs of a swallowed battery. If it is suspected that a button cell battery has been swallowed, a doctor should definitely be consulted. "The quicker the battery is removed, the less tissue damage there will be," says Gerner.
The expert from the Freiburg University Medical Center, together with the Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, is therefore calling for precautions to be taken by device manufacturers. "It would make sense, for example, if battery covers could only be opened with tools," says Gerner. Parents should carefully secure the children's play area and keep button cells out of reach of babies and small children.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Patrick Gerner
Senior Consultant
Head of the Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology Section
Department of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Freiburg University Medical Center
Phone: 0761 270-44420
patrick.gerner@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Back
Medical Center - University of Freiburg
Central Information
Phone: 0761 270-0
info@uniklinik-freiburg.de
For press inquiries:
Corporate Communications
Breisacher Straße 153
79110 Freiburg
Phone: 0761 270-84830
kommunikation@uniklinik-freiburg.de