DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — More kids are visiting the emergency room due to button batteries and local doctors want to help parents avoid a scary trip to the hospital.
A study from Safe Kids Worldwide found battery related ER visits from 2010 to 2019 more than doubled from what they were from 1990 to 2009. The vast majority of patients were 5 years old or younger — and around 90 percent of the visits were due to children ingesting the battery.
"Make sure that the electronic devices that use these batteries are away from children," said Dr. Sanjay Garg, a pediatrician with HSHS St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur. "Make sure these batteries are not within reach of little ones so these should be locked up."
Common items that use button batteries are key fobs, television remotes, toys and even singing greeting cards.
Dr. Garg said any parent who believes their child has eaten a battery — or gotten one stuck in their nose or ear — should take them to the emergency room for proper treatment.
