" Button Battery " danger !

In recent decades, we have seen a huge expansion in the use of " Button Batteries " to power a range of devices.   They are the batteries that power our digital watches and hearing aids, but the rush to reduce the size of control functions such as remote controls are seeing these tiny batteries replacing their older and bigger cousins at a steady rate.

Many people regard them as harmless, but they have the capacity to kill and they are particularly deadly in the hands - and mouths - of young children.  On average, four children a week are rushed to hospital to deal with a battery that they have swallowed.

This past week, a four year old girl died on the Gold Coast from just such an incident.   The biggest danger comes when parents are unaware of what has happened.  Children too small to explain what has happened will lose the critical opportunity to get treatment and when one of these batteries is within a child's body the natural saliva juices will setup a chemical reaction in just an hour or two. Burning of tissue will quickly become life threatening.

Unfortunately, this danger is not widely known.  Because the batteries are so small, many people see them as harmless and conclude that - if swallowed - they would exit the body through natural functions.   Ingesting a battery should be considered  an incident of similar severity to swallowing deadly poison !

The medical people are warning parents to be very careful in disposing of even " used "  batteries, but innovative industries are presenting new problems.   Novelty items are appearing on the market - and these will likely include musical birthday cards which are powered by a tiny button battery.    Watch out for " singing Christmas cards " when that season comes around  this year.

The danger will come if such novelty cards are left around as playthings - once the novelty has worn off.   The tiny battery is usually glued somewhere on the card and it can easily be dislodged - and swallowed.

The world of innovation finds new ways to bring delight - but unfortunately it also has a " dark side " !