Danger alert over batteries for cameras

Parents are being warned of the danger of children swallowing camera batteries.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Sep 2010, 23:43 BST
Updated 20th Sep 2010, 23:43 BST

Experts said severe injury to the oesophagus, the tube connecting the throat to the stomach, can occur if a child swallows one of the pill-like disc batteries.

When the battery is lodged in the oesophagus, chemicals can leak out, causing an electrical discharge that burns and destroys tissue.

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Researchers in the US studied 10 children with an average age of 3.2 who had swallowed disc batteries. The youngsters stayed in hospital for an average of 6.9 days.

Seven had suffered significant damage to the oesophagus. Five sustained damage to smooth muscle lining and two experienced perforation.

The American Association of Poison Control Centres reported 2,063 cases of disc battery ingestion in 1998. By 2006 this figure had risen by 80 per cent.