A child swallowing a lithium battery may seem like an isolated case. However, this type of accident has quadrupled in twenty years. How to avoid them and what to do in case of ingestion? The doctors respond.
For their duration, size and efficiency, electronics manufacturers love them: lithium batteries. Unfortunately, their daily presence with children can prove dangerous. Whether dropped from a remote control or a toy, batteries can easily be swallowed by an infant. In France, this domestic accident is more and more common: we report, every day, three hospitalizations of children under the age of six who ingested a lithium battery. These accidents have quadrupled in twenty years. So, what to do in case of ingestion? What are the real dangers? With BFMTV, Professor Florence Campeotto, pediatric gastroenterologist at Necker Hospital in Paris, gave the instructions.
If your child swallows a lithium battery, here’s what to do
“If we see that the battery is at the level of the esophagus, we have two hours to remove it. Beyond two hours, the lesions can be more significant and this leads to necrosis, it is the destruction of the walls of the esophagus, it is very dangerous”, alarmed the specialist. Faced with the sharp increase in the number of domestic accidents, the High Authority for Health published in February 2022 a statement to help parents in the event of a lithium battery ingestion. “It is recommended to leave the child on an empty stomach without trying to make him vomit and to call 15 or a poison control center, in order to trigger the assessment and the appropriate care of the child without delay”it was specified.
For its part, the Duracell brand, the main supplier of lithium batteries, has decided to launch an awareness campaign until December 31, 2022 to challenge parents and early childhood professionals on the risks to their children in the event of ingestion.