As Christmas approaches, parents are being urged to check for button batteries, which children are prone to swallowing.
The batteries are frequently used in musical greeting cards, toys, remote controls and key fobs — and can “quickly burn through the tissue causing serious injury or death” if a child swallows one or puts it in their nose or ears.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has now put out a warning — identifying the batteries as a “high risk” product.
According to Ian Caplin from MBIE’s consumer protection team, the National Poisons Centre received 41 calls a year between 2019 and 2021 relating to button batteries being swallowed or stuck in ears and noses.
“Knowing if button batteries are in your home and knowing where they are is incredibly important,” he said.
“Not only could they be in gifts children may get at Christmas, but also in everyday items like kitchen scales or hearing aids.
“Over 60% of the incidents involve button batteries coming loose from inside these sorts of items, with a further 29% coming from batteries that weren’t disposed of or stored safely.”
MBIE advised parents to “make sure the battery compartment cannot be opened by a young child or when dropped”.
“When you change the batteries, make sure the used ones are disposed of somewhere out of reach of children, and any spare ones are kept secure and away from children.
“Finally, when Christmas is all over, and you’re packing up the decorations for another year, take a quick look to see if there aren’t any tiny button batteries left behind in amongst all the left-over wrapping paper.”
If your child does swallow a battery, however, parents are urged to “immediately” take them to an emergency department,
Honey can “significantly reduce harm”, so if honey is available, give them two teaspoons before heading to the hospital.
“As long as they are at least a year old and there is no obvious chest pain or fever. You can give two teaspoons every 10 minutes, up to six doses.”
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