Molly was immediately taken to the hospital so that doctors could promptly remove the foreign body from her body.
Sister Jane Kilworth from Streford, Trafford, Greater Manchester, England recently issued a warning to parents about the safety of young children. Accordingly, her daughter – Molly – swallowed the battery from her parents’ car key. This is a very common type of battery, used for a variety of toys for young children.
Sister Jane and daughter Molly. (Photo: dailymail).
Jane’s horror began when 2-year-old Molly took the keys while the whole family was at her brother Joseph’s school. The girl was playing with the keys and unexpectedly got the small battery ( button battery ) out of the key. Unfortunately, the girl put the battery in her mouth and swallowed it. At this point, Jane was really panicking.
This type of battery is very dangerous when in the human body, it can burn an adult’s throat in less than an hour. For young children, this time is much lower. Molly was immediately taken to the hospital so that the doctors could promptly remove the foreign body from her body. After sedating Molly, doctors removed the foreign body from her stomach by inserting a tube down her throat.
Jane said: “For any parent, holding their child’s hand while under anesthesia is one of the most terrifying times. You have to be strong and show yourself fearless even though inside you are shaking with fear.” Jane waited outside the door of the operating room for an hour with anxiety and worry, until the doctors showed up to announce that Molly was safe, she felt relieved.
Luckily Molly is safe and recovering well. (Photo: dailymail).
The surgery was successful, the doctors informed Jane that Molly must be extremely lucky to survive. If the battery was in Molly’s esophagus or intestines, it could have killed her in less than an hour. However, Molly’s stomach lining was injured and needed to take medicine for 6 weeks to avoid ulcers. Fortunately, Molly made a good recovery. Jane said that she and her family have now put all the keys out of Molly’s reach.
Jane now urgently urges parents to beware of the potential dangers in this year’s Christmas toys. Many toys will use this type of battery and if swallowed it can be extremely dangerous. She advises parents to learn carefully and keep their children from these dangers.
This button battery is very dangerous, if placed in a child’s esophagus or intestines, it can cause a child to die in less than an hour. (Photo: dailymail).
She added: “To this day, I am still shocked at the dangers of these batteries and their availability in children’s toys.”
Button batteries or Lithium batteries are very dangerous flat batteries because children may mistakenly think that candy and their size can get stuck in the child’s throat. When the battery is stuck, it will generate an electric current when it comes into contact with the lining of the esophagus, thereby forming caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) causing severe burns. Even if the battery is removed from the body, it may continue to cause serious injury and burns.
Although new batteries are more toxic, used, expired batteries are still dangerous and parents are still advised to store or dispose of them carefully. A test on a hot dog showed it burned and thawed in just 3 hours.