BUTTON BATTERIES – A DANGER TO CHILDREN – Consumers Association Penang

Kids aged 6 months to 3 years are most likely to swallow something they shouldn’t. Common offenders: coins, fish bones toys, buttons, earrings, rings, paper clips, game pieces, needles, pins, tacks, toothpicks, screws, and nails.

Two things are especially dangerous: button batteries and magnets. Small batteries are a serious danger to children, if swallowed. When one gets stuck in the tube between their mouth and stomach (the esophagus), it can burn it within hours.

Your child may show no symptoms at all after swallowing an odd item. But clues that something’s amiss can include coughing, drooling, bloody saliva, gagging, fever, refusing food, and vomiting. Pain in their neck, chest, or throat can be another sign.