CPSC Issues Warning On Button Batteries

The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Capital Poison Center at Georgetown University today issued a strong warning to consumers based on reports that an estimated 500 to 800 button (miniature or disc) batteries are swallowed each year.

Technologic advances in electronic miniaturization have increased the availability of miniature (button) batteries in homes..in watches, calculators, cameras, hearing aids, and games. Although the vast majority of these button batteries, when accidentally swallowed, will pass through the person without any problem, occasional severe complications and even fatalities have been reported. Batteries may become lodged in the esophagus or intestine, slowly leaking alkaline electrolytes and causing an internal chemical burn.

Battery ingestions are preventable. Important prevention and treatment information is available based on preliminary results of a National Button Battery Ingestion Study conducted by Dr. Toby Litovitz, director of the National Capital Poison Center, of 62 button battery ingestions reported to the National Capital Poison Center in the past 9 months, 59% involved batteries that were left out loose rather than properly discarded or stored; 39% of the batteries were in the product they were intended for, and removed from the product. Half of these batteries were in hearing aids.

Accidental ingestion of button batteries is not restricted to children. In this study, only 66% of patients were under the age of five and 10% were 18 years or older. A surprising 24% were in the 5 to 12 year age range.

Many of the major United States battery manufacturers have voluntarily placed warnings on the battery packages, which are routinely sold in blister packing which forms an excellent child resistant closure. The success of this packaging is supported by the National Capital Poison Center study which shows that fewer than 2% of batteries ingested were obtained from the manufacturers original packaging.

Recommendations to help prevent button battery ingestion are:

- Keep button batteries out of your child's reach. Discard them carefully.

- Do not allow children to play with button batteries.

- Never put button batteries in your mouth for any reason...they are slippery and easily swallowed accidentally.

- Always check medications before swallowing them. Adults have swallowed batteries mistaken for tablets.

- Caution hearing aid users to keep hearing aids and batteries out of the reach of children.

If a button battery is swallowed, contact your poison control center, your physician, or the National Button Battery Ingestion hot line at 202-625-3333. Dr Litovitz cautions that the vast majority ingested will pass through the intestine without any difficulty. In the absence of symptoms an x-ray and laxative are usually all that is required. If symptoms are present or the battery is lodged in the esophagus, complications are more likely and immediate removal is usually indicated.