Nanjing, 1.5-year-old toddler Ningning accidentally swallowed a button battery, which got stuck in her esophagus for about 10 hours, causing irreversible corrosive perforation of the esophagus and lifelong disability. Doctors are reminding parents to be cautious of electric toys, remote controls, car keys, and other items at home.
A video released by Wushipin on September 6 showed a button battery stuck in the esophagus, with doctors performing a surgery to remove it.
According to a report from Lizhi News on September 6, in May of this year, the battery cover of the electronic audio book at Ningning’s home became loose. While her mother took out the battery and placed it on the coffee table before turning to the kitchen to do household chores, Ningning crawled to her walker and managed to grab the button battery, putting it in her mouth.
By the time her mother noticed, Ningning was crying incessantly, vomiting, and refusing to drink water. When taken to the hospital, doctors found the battery stuck in her esophagus after examining her with an endoscope, which had already been lodged for “10 hours”.
Doctors explained that when a button battery enters the esophagus, it continues to generate heat internally similar to placing a hot soldering iron on a child’s delicate esophagus, causing mucosal burns within minutes. If left for over 6 hours, it can lead to perforation, requiring some children to undergo surgery to remove part of the esophagus or facing lifelong feeding difficulties.
Despite the successful removal of the battery through surgery, Ningning’s esophagus had already suffered severe corrosive perforation, resulting in a lifelong disability.
Doctors advise that if a child accidentally swallows a battery, they should not be given water as it can accelerate the battery discharge, worsening the burn. Inducing vomiting is also not recommended as it can cause further damage to the esophagus. The correct response is to immediately note the type of battery swallowed and take the child to the hospital with the same battery, refraining from giving them any food or water during the journey.
Doctors also caution parents that aside from battery-operated toys, remote controls, car keys, items such as magnetic beads, toilet cleaners, air conditioner cleaning solutions, and other strong acidic or alkaline cleaning agents are high-risk items for children to accidentally ingest.