Throughout the year, but even more around birthdays and end-of-year celebrations (during which children receive a mountain of gifts), the DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and fraud repression) reminds us how important it is to be vigilant about button batteries, which are often responsible for domestic accidents.
Indeed, these small flat and round batteries which one finds in the cameras or the remote controls are also present in certain electronic toys, in particular in the musical books and the luminous "hand spinners", very popular in the playgrounds these last years. The authorities therefore warn that ingesting a button cell battery can cause severe damage, or even lead to death.
Following several proven cases, especially during the holiday season, the Montpellier University Hospital is issuing the alert on the risks associated with the ingestion of button batteries by children and infants. “Many objects contain small batteries called button cells. These accidents mainly affect infants and children under the age of 5, "said Prof. Nicolas Kalfa, Pediatric Visceral and Urology Surgeon, in the news columns.
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An extremely serious domestic accident which, when it is not fatal, causes burns, hemorrhages, perforations, necrosis or even suffocation … The Antipoison centers have thus identified that between January 1999 and June 2015, 4,030 cases of ingestion of Button cell batteries have been studied: 21 severe cases were observed while two children died. A study is underway for the period 2016/2018, but it has already been established that three children have lost their lives due to this kind of batteries. A phenomenon that mainly affects children under the age of 6 and which leads more than 1,200 people to emergencies each year in France.
To reduce the risk, keep button batteries out of the reach of your children. Also prefer to buy products whose battery compartment is secure such as resistant packaging that requires the use of scissors.
If your kids are very young, it's best to turn to products that run on big batteries. Make sure the compartment is not accessible to your toddler. More difficult or even impossible to swallow, your child will be able to have fun without danger.
Once your batteries have died, consider recycling them. A household has an average of 106 used cells and batteries. To turn these used batteries into a new resource, simply drop them off at a collection point, available in many stores. And so that they do not pollute, there are eco-organizations like Corepile or Batribox which take care of recycling them. A smart way to sort and preserve the planet at the same time.
To learn more about the habits to adopt to reduce your waste, reuse your objects and sort them well, visit the website of the #LesBonnesHabitudes campaign.
How to react if your child has swallowed one of these famous batteries? If you have the slightest doubt, there is not a minute to lose, you have to call the Antipoison Center or the SAMU (15)! But the best is still to take the lead, by keeping button batteries, used or not, out of the reach of children. You should also remember to check that the battery compartment of the toys is properly closed, with a screw or other secure locking device.
– Article produced in partnership with MTES –