for very young, peril lurks in lithium cell batteries

Last fall, 13-month-
Old Aidan Teret in Hamilton, Ohio, has developed a disease that appears to be an upper respiratory tract infection.
He lost interest in food and vomited several times, but the doctor thought it was caused by the virus.
After 9 days of severe symptoms and more visits, the hospital finally ordered X-
Ray went for pneumonia.
On the contrary, their findings were completely unexpected.
The child takes in a button battery, one of the flat silver trays used to power the remote control, toys, music greeting cards, scales and other household electronics.
The next day, the battery was removed from the operation and Aidan was sent home.
But neither the doctor nor his parents realized that the injury had been done.
Battery currents cause chemical reactions in the esophagus of children, passing through the wall of the esophagus and attacking the aorta.
Two days after the battery was removed, Aidan began coughing up blood and soon died of injury.
Until today, aidan\'s parents did not know where the battery came from.
Michelle Truett, Aidan\'s mother, said it was something I would never want another parent to live with me.
I don\'t know how dangerous they are, and I want to let more people know about the dangers.
This death is very rare.
In the past six years, fewer than 10 documents have been on the record.
However, the intake of lithium batteries is a surprising common problem, which was recorded this week in two reports in the medical journal Pediatrics, and children may mistake lithium batteries for candy and the elderly.
It is reported that there are about 3,500 cases of button battery intake poisoning control centers every year.
However, while swallowing the battery has taken place for many years, the development of a larger, stronger lithium battery increases the risk of serious complications.
According to data from the Washington National Center for poisoning, the number of serious complications caused by button cell implantation has increased seven times in recent years.
Moderate to severe cases rose from less than half a percentage point (
About a dozen boxes a year)
To about 3% (
Nearly 100 cases per year)
According to the review of 56,000 cases since 1985.
In severe complications, the battery-induced chemistry damages the vocal cords and makes the children whisper for life.
Damage to the intestines means that some children need to be fed the esophagus and operated multiple times.
The doctor said the injury was much more serious.
Director and lead author of two articles in pediatrics, Toby litowice.
Like a drain opener or alkali.
It\'s not what you want in your child\'s esophagus.
The battery that poses the greatest risk is the one that starts on the 20 th, representing 20mm.
They are bigger and stronger than the old model.
Batteries numbered 2032, 2025 and 2016 cause more than 90% serious damage.
The industry has turned to this battery, which has a very popular appealLitovitz said.
There are many reasons why we want to use this battery, but the problem is that we have to use it in a safer way.
Federal safety rules require toys using batteries to lock the battery box with screws.
However, devices designed specifically for adults, such as scales and remote controls, usually hold the battery inside with a simple plastic cover that can fall off or be easily disassembled.
This is what happened 13-month-
Ancient Vasquez? Virginia, Bristol.
Get the remote to his parents\' iPod dock.
Somehow, he took off the battery and swallowed it.
But when he started crying hysterically and couldn\'t calm down, his parents didn\'t notice the missing battery.
The doctor in the emergency room diagnosed stomach flu, but a week later, the child\'s pediatrician received X-
Ray saw what he thought was a quarter.
When the circular item was taken out, the doctor found the battery and asked Kaiden to continue the observation.
The battery burned a hole in his esophagus and trachea and he needed a feeding tube and two months of home care.
Kaiden, who will be at the age of July 3, has recovered, although after the incident damaged his teeth, he had a serious return.
Amy Vasquez, the mother of Kaiden, said I don\'t allow any disc batteries to enter my home and she has three young children.
I never thought the remote would do so much damage to my child.
Battery intake is also a problem for older people who often mistake hearing aid batteries for drugs.
But in these cases, the battery usually does not get stuck because the digestive tract is larger and the battery used in the hearing aid is smaller.
When children take in batteries, it\'s not usually because they find a loose battery at home.
In cases involving children under the age of 6, 60% of the children have removed batteries from electronic devices.
The problem is that most parents don\'t even know when the battery will happen, but research shows that the battery starts causing serious damage in just two hours after it is ingested.
This is a very tight schedule, because many of these situations are not witnessed with their own eyes, Dr. Litovitz said.
Children with non-specific symptoms, parents do not know that the battery has been ingested, which makes it difficult for a doctor to diagnose. âx80x9dDr.
Litovitz says electronics manufacturers need to address this and they should protect battery boxes in all devices, not just toys.
Children can use remote controls, watches, garage door openers at any time, she said.
Our main goal is to get the industry to do something about battery boxes, but parents also need to know that they need to deal with these batteries more warily and not let them reach their children.
Carla George, Littleton, Colorado.
Since she was 18 years old, she has been working to raise awareness of lithium batteriesmonth-
The old daughter Brenner died after eating one two years ago.
\"I want to raise awareness among parents, doctors and the community,\" she said . \".
I think there should be a warning for every item where the battery is located.
They talk in greeting cards and children\'s books.
Everywhere.
Comments are no longer accepted.
We have a new set of laws. technology’s)
Unexpected consequences
The warning on the device is undoubtedly a false protection for pre-literate children.
Should be a simple and cheap solution (
Problem that cannot read warning)
A sliding double latch made of hard plastic is designed to lock the battery box of the device controller.
Two hands should be needed.
If it is annoying enough difficulty for the buyer of the item, force him to read and understand the direction. Terrible.
If only doctors can use X
Light without considering the cost . . . . . . From TPP-
It\'s a bit complicated.
You don\'t want to expose your child to unnecessary xrays.
Also, X-rays were performed in some of these cases, but they looked at the stomach and saw nothing --
Items are stuck in the esophagus.
When you have so little information, it\'s hard for a doctor to diagnose.
Imagine that so many children are crying and vomiting.
It\'s not good to take them all.
However, the dissemination of information on this issue will help doctors and parents.
The first comment is a good one, but since it is removed when the battery runs out, there are still many opportunities for mistaking.
Why not ask the manufacturer to print the generic poison symbol on the battery?
This will help educate users older than enough to understand the consequences and may provide some help to those who are illiterate, illiterate or do not read the language used by the warning.
This is definitely a nightmare for parents.
The consumer goods safety board needs to step in and regulate these dangerous goods.
Wherever these batteries are used, the child safety cover on the medicine bottle must be required.
It may also be a good time to evaluate and see if every device in our home really needs a remote control.
In our enthusiasm to make every object Wireless, we have become battery crazy.
Convenience has exceeded the need for security.
We never question anything until the tragedy happens. Being paper-free and wire-
Freedom is often mistaken for the sound of the environment.
All of these electronic devices, fluorescent bulbs and various batteries are toxic and not easy to handle except lithium.
We just exchanged one poison for the other.
@ CL: It\'s also dangerous to plug a fork into an electrical outlet.
In this false enthusiasm for \"zero risk\", nanny national society, you would rather we give up all the electricity and go back to the Old Stone Age, Hunter-
Collecting lifestyle?
Wait, they use fire. someone may burn themselves . . . . . . It\'s better to pull the cover and never get up . . . . . . I question the editorial judgment of this blog to focus on this rare phenomenon.
Things that kill less than 10 children in 6 years rank very, very low in the priority list.
In contrast, lightning strikes killed 1318 people in 15 years.
Faster than 50 times.
Why not put the same time, energy and resources into this column, put them into encouraging vaccination for children, or teaching children to wash their hands, or installing safety car seats for children, or any other health and safety issues? FROM TPP —
I have written all these questions in the past.
This is a new and emerging threat that parents need to know.
The mortality rate is very low, but the rate of serious injuries is 13% when very young children take these batteries.
This is extraordinary for a problem that can be prevented and worth writing.
This happened when our daughter hazel was 9 months old.
She also got the battery from our DVD remote.
Although there are obvious severe symptoms such as asthma, breathing, vomiting, fever, nosebleeds, cough, breathing difficulties, it was not detected within a weekalert symptoms.
The battery was recorded in her esophagus.
After taking it out, she performed an intubation for 8 days and had many complications.
We got through it. hazel is now 1/2 years old and happy and healthy.
For parents, Michelle and Kara had a nightmare.
There is no language that can describe our heartache for their family, but we are very proud that they have conveyed this message to other parents.
This is preventable and should not happen to anyone else. FROM TPP —
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
It is good to hear a child recover from this terrible accident.
Watch out for the little silver candy that falls off the device.
TPP wrote: \"This is a new and emerging threat that parents need to know.
With all due respect, I disagree.
Or rather, if public health advocates have significantly reduced or eliminated child deaths caused by the reasons I have listed, I agree with you.
These other deaths can also be prevented, and the prevalence and mortality rates are much higher.
Just to make it a little clearer: if you write (yet another)
A column on how to help prevent children from smoking, or how to deal with lightning storms, the benefits you repeat may prevent more child deaths and physical injuries, more than you post on this blog.
Of course, this is your blog and what to write is your choice.
As a reader, I would ask to use a platform where you have to help the maximum number of people get the best benefit.
As a clinician, I know the dangers of button batteries.
However, there is no way to distinguish the symptoms of cold or stomach flu.
How does your article help me or my parents?
No Xraying everyone, this is not feasible due to the reasons you pointed out above, how can we diagnose?
What exactly does this help parents?
Would you recommend banning button batteries? FROM TPP —
If I had a kid at home, I would search where the button battery is and put the tape on the lid.
As for doctors, in the cases described, some doctors do not know the seriousness of the risk.
As far as Brenna is concerned, after they saw the battery on the X-ray, they waited 14 hours to remove the battery.
She died on her way to the operating room.
I must agree with the poster 7-Mt.
Working in a branch of pediatric healthcare, I am also surprised that this swamp will focus on a problem that, in my opinion, is not so much a threat as a threat, a pesticide in everyday life, or avoid mercury in food, or too much TV damage to learning, etc.
I am concerned that we have become a society that needs to warn and limit everything.
Can\'t we simply take care of ourselves and the people we care about?
If you have a young child, there is no reason to exclude any danger of choking or swallowing.
Just like we told Johnny\'s brother not to let Lego get in the way of the little one, we should also tell ourselves to put the Xanax pill, the little battery away, and that tiny part.
This is not such a difficult person.
We don\'t need a special article to tell us this.
While this is clearly a serious problem for the affected children, few cases suggest that we do not need extensive supervision and a lot of claims that we are \"battery crazy \".
\"Of course, it\'s always good to be aware of the risks, but why not take the responsibility to protect your child for your home?
When your child is very young, bring some strong tape and close the battery cover. FROM TPP —
I am not even aware of this risk and it is a very simple thing to correct it.
Why not make sure these batteries are inaccessible without using a screwdriver?
This system is used on children\'s toys, why not on other electronic devices?
If you have such a battery and it is not fixed with a screw, please do not let the child touch it.
Yes, that\'s how simple it is.
Your child does not need to play with any type of remote control.
Learning how to work at such a young age is not important for their development.
I think the person you responded to above has a good point-if the mortality rate is not high compared to what we don\'t think is a threat, then it\'s not a serious threat.
Your comment did not really refute his argument.
The \"13% serious injury rate\" may be true, but the 13% chance of serious injury is not enough to make small lithium batteries a serious threat.
Only mortality and injury rates are high enough to pose a serious threat.
For example, if lithium batteries have a 100% chance of causing serious harm when ingested, they will not be a serious threat if never ingested.
If the lithium battery has a 1% chance of causing damage at the time of intake, it would be a serious threat if 100 children were consumed per minute.
This article does not worry me about the safety of American children.
While these deaths are tragic, I agree with the comments on the nanny country.
For children, the risk is much greater if the government does not tell manufacturers how to make their products.
If we really want to save lives, we should pass and enforce laws that prohibit the use of mobile phones and texting on cars.
We may save 6 lives in a week. FROM TPP —
There are more comments in the string of this nature.
Personally, I don\'t think it makes sense to wait for 100 of child deaths before an alarm is issued.
I discussed this with Dr. Litovitz.
Her answer is:
Litovitz: The only reason readers need to realize that less frequent deaths are due to the fact that most children who swallow their batteries receive immediate medical care, including x-
Ray, and endoscopic resection in a timely manner.
These steps are life. saving.
Without them, hundreds of children may die each year from battery charging.
My 85 year old father was happy and safe in an assisted living facility. He wore in-the-
Ear Hearing Aid
Either he or the waiter put the lithium battery of the hearing aid in the ear, not on the device.
It took a few days for the pain to develop to the signal that something went wrong.
His ears were swollen and I took him to the doctor who found the problem right away.
The Burns and subsequent infections were so deep that, despite excellent medical care, he had to remove the infected bones and tissues multiple times to control the damage, and six months later he died of the infection.
No one will die like this. FROM TPP —
Yes, it\'s terrible.
People with hearing aids often take the battery out at the end of the day to maintain battery life, but the battery can sometimes be mistaken for a pill or hearing aid itself, or swallow or insert an ear directly.
As your story shows, they can do a lot of damage.
Thank you for sharing your experience and sorry for your loss.
I think someone needs to invent a child-proof battery compartment.
Send me a check if you have money. :PMs.
George mentioned that the children had batteries in their books.
Sounds like something that needs to be out of the market immediately.
These batteries are not just the product of Wireless Society.
Each computer contains one of these button batteries to power the clock when the computer is turned off.
Amy Vasquez will never be able to restart her computer or she will reset the clock every time.
Awareness is the key, and I agree with the previous poster, who said that the skull and crossbones on the battery could be cautious.
But limiting this useful thing on the market will throw the baby out with the bath water. Ms Parker-
Pope-thank you for your valuable information and I didn\'t even think it was an issue.
Don\'t let the fools of tea bags discourage you.
Hopefully they will be suffocated by small batteries because of a problem with reading. Regards,DUgg.
Nothing else!
It\'s crazy trying to keep up with all the little kids.
These things will happen no matter what happens.
My 8 month old has just swallowed one of the bright hooks and we still hope it will show up . . . . . . In the end, I\'m tired of the \"nanny state\" mentality of the New York Times.
The New York Times\'s pursuit of a zero-risk life is beyond the ridiculous level.
Life is dangerous.
As other people who responded to the story pointed out, there are a lot of \"fatal\" things to consider about banning other than the remote control battery.
So I added a few.
Cars are prohibited, for example.
Cars kill or kill roughly 35-
There are 50,000 people a year.
Let\'s get those killers off the road so we can walk anywhere, in any direction, on any road without worrying about getting knocked down.
Of course, it will no longer need 5-
It takes 7 hours to drive to Boston, but at least 7-
10 days of easy time walking on I-95.
How about a bike ban, because about 700-
800 people are killed every year while riding a bike? .
No trains. how about 420 miles per gallon of diesel?
In North America, trains kill about 500 people a year (
This applies only to big railways, not other forms of rail transit).
What about the ban on public transport systems, that is, all subways, light rail and buses?
Overall, they kill more than most transport managers admit.
For example, the New York City metro alone killed 23 people in 2007. .
A number that is totally unacceptable.
Where is the New York Times report of the 23 deaths?
Can it be done in a year? .
Why is it not calling for more regulation or a total ban on subway passengers because 23 people are dead and 23 are too many dead.
Keep in mind that this number does not include the number of deaths caused by other riders.
When we\'re doing it, let\'s do it like every year, at 400-
500 people die each year from electric shock at home.
Of course, we have to go back to candles, kerosene lamps and fireplaces.
But, as the National Fire Protection Association has suggested, we will eventually become one of the main sources of fire in our homes for more people . . . . . . .
So I suspect that some people will die.
All of this is to make our lives completely safe. .
The New York Times, will you find journalists who are actually adults and not frightened fools? You seem to like spending money on horror stories.
Now that you know why, I\'m reading The Times less and less to get my news directly from the Internet.
A long time ago, your paper was no longer \"must-read.
An article like this one was \"skyrocketed\" by a responsible editor 25 years ago \".
Lithium: a healthy elix agent with serious potential hazards. The danger of the lithium battery you describe is shocking, but it is relieved due to the low frequency of occurrence.
The remedy you mentioned seems reasonable.
Risk is part of life.
The danger of the battery seems to be low.
Lithium, a light metal on the periodic table, relative-a-Psychiatrist.
In 1948, Australian psychiatrist John Cade worked in a \"back-up hospital\" and suffered from about 10 difficult cases of bipolar disorder (
Then called mania.
Patients with depression);
Patients with severe and dysfunctional conditions have been sent to institutions for at least a decade. Nothing worked.
He tried a compound containing lithium and after a few weeks five people were relieved and then went back to work;
The other five improved significantly. Amazing!
It began to be widely used, helping about 75% of people to be diagnosed.
Then death, now verboten.
However, it is certain that the validity window of lithium is small.
If the dose is too low: no improvement;
Excessive: serious side effects including death.
So, now, when a bipolar patient is taking medication, blood tests must be performed on a regular basis to measure the level of the person.
In order to be both effective and not dangerous, the level should be between or about. 8 and 1.
Behavior is also measured.
In my opinion, lithium is the preferred drug for most patients with bipolar disorder.
One of the major medical discoveries in the 20 th century.
The battery is completely different.
However, both cases show that a knife can be used as a useful and effective tool.
It can also kill people.
Any new discoveries or inventions are slow.
That\'s why scientific methods are so important.
Comment 3 discusses the batteries that were removed when \"ran out\", in other words, they no longer work.
But the danger described in this article comes from the stationary current
Working battery. Thus child-
Proof of closure is valid and the Consumer Product Safety Board should ask for proof of closure.
As for the \"nanny --
6 Comments, seems ridiculous in this case.
Items with this battery can cause very minor inconvenience to the child
The government\'s regulation will certainly help.
Parents do cover the power outlet, but it\'s hard for them to seal the battery they don\'t know.
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