Diabolical " Button Batteries " !

 This coming Friday morning, thousands of little kids will awaken across Australia and search the foot of their beds to see whether Santa paid a visit during the night.  Christmas day is said to be the happiest day of the year because the jolly fat man in his sleigh pulled by Rheindeers is said to come from the North Pole and leave presents for all the good little boys and girls.

Those presents awaiting discovery will be many and varied, and later in the day they may be supplemented by others from Mum and Dad  and this modern world of toys will contain many that make sounds and excite by movement that is controlled by a world of ever smaller batteries.  We live in the age of the " button battery " and unfortunately along with the excitement it delivers, it is also a danger to the unwary.

These shiny little batteries are often only lightly secured to the toy they power and should a child drop it they come free. Small children can mistake them for lollies and may put them in their mouth to check their taste.  If they are swallowed this sets in motion a medical episode than can lead to serious injury or death,

Those button batteries are incredibly powerful and the stomach acid reacts to them to deliver a caustic reaction that burns the stomach lining. It is essential that this receives immediate medical attention to remover the battery before the burn reaches a critical stage, and unfortunately small children are unable to explain what they have done to their parents.

All too often parents are unaware of the danger until the distressed child is taken to a hospital and an X-Ray reveals the damage and results in imediate surgery.  Those button batteries are everywhere today and they are not confined to toys.  Each year their uses expand and we find them powering hearing aids and the multitude of controls that apply to all sort of electronics and kitchen gadgets.  This is a growing danger and legislation is pending to improve the retention standards to make button batteries more secure.

Since December 2017 over forty incidents of young children suffering severe injuries from swallowing button batteries have occurred and three have died.  This has caused the government to implement a requirement to force an improvement in manufacturing standards to introduce secure battery compartments that contain visible warnings and which are child resistent.

These must undertake compliance testing to prove they are secure and it will be mandatory to have additional warnings and medical advice prominently on display.Unfortunately, this improvement is probably eighteen months away from becoming active on all goods reaching the market place.

That leaves a vast array of past toys powered by button batteries with access to small children.  When the battery life expires, there is the expectation that the toy may ne renewed by replacing the batteries, but some parents may cement that battery in place with a powerful adhesive as a safety measure.  In such cases, the toy will be discarded rather than renewed when the battery expires and that is far better than a toy with a battery that can pose a danger to a child.

This Christmas morning wise parents might check the toys Santa left for battery security.  It is very obvious that toys powered by button batteries are not suitable for children of a young age.  Early action to eliminate that danger can save a life.