“Foam mixed with blood is coming out of the mouth”… What happened after swallowing ‘this’ toy for a one-year-old child?

The story of a baby whose esophagus was severely damaged after swallowing a battery contained in a toy was introduced.

According to a report by British media outlet Need to Know, Katie Woodside, a mother of two living in New York, USA, ran to see Keith (1), who was playing with his three-year-old brother in the living room, when she realized that his coughing sound was unusual. When I got there, the child seemed to have something stuck in his throat and was not breathing properly. Katie and her husband Nick tried desperately to get it out of her throat, but failed.

The child’s face gradually turned blue, and bloody foam began to come out of his mouth. An ambulance was urgently called and the child was taken to the hospital. An X-ray was taken and a round battery was found in the child’s neck. The child had swallowed a battery contained in a toy phone he was playing with. Meanwhile, the child cried out in pain and fainted.

Doctors removed the battery in a 90-minute surgery, and the child spent two weeks in the intensive care unit recovering. Although the accident occurred in January, the child’s esophagus is still severely damaged, so there is a risk of choking every time he eats. Additionally, you can only eat pureed food, and we have prepared a device to suck out food if it gets stuck in your throat.

After the accident, Katie threw away all the toys at home that used batteries and kept only rechargeable ones. “I can’t believe how easily a child can remove the battery from a toy made for young children,” he said. He said he was sharing his story to educate other parents about the dangers of battery-operated toys.

Be careful about identifying and storing items that use batteries… If you swallow a battery, go to the emergency room right away.

As most children grow up, they go through a period where they put anything in their mouth. As there are many toys that use batteries to make sounds or lights, as well as household items, accidents involving children swallowing batteries occur frequently.

As in the story above, coin-type lithium batteries commonly used in children’s toys are small, so accidents can easily occur when children swallow them. When a battery is swallowed and gets stuck in the throat, the saliva generates an electric current, which causes a chemical reaction that burns the esophagus and internal organs within a short period of time, creating a hole. This can lead to tissue damage and even death in severe cases.

Since you cannot watch your child at all times, you need to know which toys and household items use batteries, and pay attention to storage and management. Also, be sure to supervise your child when he or she plays with toys containing batteries.

If a child swallows a battery, symptoms such as refusal of food, coughing or choking, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, excessive drooling, noise when breathing, hoarseness of voice, abdominal pain or vomiting, bloody stool, saliva, or vomit may occur. there is.

If you suspect that your child has swallowed a battery, take them to the nearest emergency room immediately. This is because damage to the esophagus can begin within a short period of time. Also, do not induce vomiting and do not perform the Heimlich maneuver. They should not be given anything to eat or drink.