Swallowing a button cell battery is a serious hazard to children.
Many products, such as toys or remote controls, are likely to contain small batteries (known as button batteries). Ingestion of these batteries represents a serious danger for children, even in the absence of obstruction of the respiratory tract. Indeed, a swallowed battery can lead to the formation of potentially fatal lesions within a few hours due to the release of toxic substances into the esophagus.
Each year in France, more than 1,200 emergency room visits are linked to the ingestion of button batteries. Poison Control Centers have identified 341 cases of ingestion or inhalation of button batteries between June 2016 and today. Accidents due to button batteries as foreign bodies mostly affect 0-5 year olds. These are mainly accidents by ingestion (in nine out of ten cases). It should be noted that the last two incidents concerned children aged 6 and 10 who put a luminous hand spinner in their mouths, the battery of which came out of its compartment.
To prevent accidents, check the safety of toys… but especially everyday objects
Being intended for the youngest, toys are subject to strict requirements and in particular the non-accessibility of batteries, imposed by European legislation. The compartment where they are housed must therefore not be able to be opened by a child or open or break if the toy falls. As a consumer protection authority, the DGCCRF ensures the safety of toys placed on the market through inspections and laboratory analyses, particularly as the Christmas holidays approach. In 2016-2017, 107 electric toys were inspected in this way: the batteries were accessible for 5 toys, including 3 luminous hand spinners (hand tops), which were withdrawn from the market.
However, if the checks carried out by the DGCCRF indicate that these regulations are generally well respected, luminous hand spinners, imported massively and at low cost since the beginning of 2017, seem more likely to present risks. Thus, in 2017, regarding ten alerts were notified at European level concerning certain lighted models of hand spinners due to a risk of ingesting batteries. In France, the DGCCRF laboratories have highlighted non-conformities for this reason concerning 3 models of these products out of a total of 5 models of luminous hand spinners tested.
Parents are therefore called upon to check that the batteries of the luminous hand spinners handled by their children are not easily accessible. In addition, they must remain vigilant with regard to other everyday objects which include button batteries (remote controls, car keys) but which – not intended for children – are not subject to these strict regulatory obligations and are regularly sources of accidents.
In order to avoid any risk, we recommend that you observe the following instructions:
- never leave button batteries within the reach of children;
- check that the battery compartment is secure and cannot be opened, and, if not, do not leave the object containing them available to a child;
- favor the purchase of devices whose battery compartment is secure (presence of a screw or need to perform two independent maneuvers to open it);
- in the event of ingestion, even suspected, of a button battery, contact 15 or a poison control centre, explicitly indicating to your interlocutor that there is a risk of ingestion of a button battery.
