SAN ANTONIO — 'tis the season of giving gifts. But in tonight's Verify, for kids, it could also be the season of serious injuries. Those can come from small pieces in new toys, but the batteries are where you should be concerned.
THE QUESTION
Is it true that swallowing a button battery can cause serious injuries to a child?
THE SOURCES
- Dr. Mandie Tibball-Svatek, a pediatric hospitalist with University Health
- Joe Arrington, the spokesperson for the San Antonio Fire Department
THE ANSWER
TRUE
WHAT WE FOUND
Dr. Tibball-Svatek says swallowing those batteries can do a number to a child's insides. "It can lodge into the esophagus. And then from the esophagus, within even an hour of ingestion, can erode that area and lead to connections to the trachea, other blood vessels that are in the body. And just overall, if it makes its way further into the intestines, can cause perforations in the intestines and make a child very sick," she told us.
SAFD's Joe Arrington says batteries with a bitter taste is what parents should be using to help prevent kids from putting them in their mouths. He added, "Look at those batteries that do have that bitter taste. As long as we pay attention and we're keeping an eye on things and those are predictable and we can prevent them."
So yes, it is true. Swallowing a button battery can cause serious injuries to a child.
Dr. Tibball-Svatek also says toys are not the only problem, but also things for adults like remote controls and hearing aids, which also often require button batteries.