THIS Caused Her Death and You Definitely Have It at Your House Too. Check It Until It’s Too Late
THIS Caused Her Death and You Definitely Have It at Your House Too. Check It Until It’s Too Late
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Summer was a healthy, normal four-year-old last year when she began vomiting blood. The blood changed from dark to bright red. She collapsed. Within the hour she had a heart attack and died.
Two days before her death, Summer had complained of pain in her stomach and a high fever. Her mother, Andrea Shoesmith, noted that her bowel movements had turned black. She rushed Summer to the hospital immediately. The little girl was returned to the hospital three times in the same day, after her symptoms did not abate. A doctor at Noosa Hospital in Queensland, Australia postulated that the child had had a nosebleed and swallowed blood. He knew that people who swallow blood sometimes become ill. He assured the family it was safe to return her home.
Summer encountered something deadly at home, something most of us take for granted. Toys, remote controls, clocks, animated greeting cards, all contain lithium batteries. Some of them are no larger than a cookie crumb, the button batteries. Summer swallowed one of these. When swallowed, these tiny batteries can become lodged in the esophagus. When that happens, saliva causes a caustic reaction that literally burns through the esophagus, causing severe bleeding and sometimes, death.
Eighty children in the United States have suffered severe damage from swallowing tiny batteries. Fifteen more have died. In 2010, 3400 children around the world were admitted to hospitals after swallowing button batteries.
RELATED ARTICLE: Blood in Your Bodily Fluids – Warning Sign You Should NEVER Ignore
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What are the signs that a child may have swallowed a button battery?
Hoarse voice
Drooling
Nausea
Abdominal pain
Blood in saliva or stool
Do not give the child food or drink, or medication for vomiting. Don’t give a Heimlich maneuver, the battery will just change positions and cause more injury.
Any child displaying these symptoms must receive emergency treatment immediately.
Once a button battery is ingested, a child’s life and future is on the line. Emmett, a 12-month-old child, discovered and swallowed a button battery which had fallen from a remote control. He survived. But today he has chronic lung damage and cannot eat by mouth. He requires a Trach to breathe. He has already endured many reconstructive surgeries. His entire esophagus was replaced.
His mother says, “We feel as his parents our mission is to create awareness of the extreme dangers of button batteries.”
How can a child be kept safe from button battery danger?
- Enter the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (202-625-3333)into your phone immediately.
- Know where all batteries are located. For most of us, this will take some thought and a careful search. Be diligent.
- When the batteries are found, place them out of reach and lock them up.
- Don’t purchase toys from flea markets or garage sales, because they may not adhere to safety standards for batteries.
- Discuss the danger of button batteries with older children, also. Sometimes older children put batteries in their mouths to feel a tickle of current. Explain this serious danger, and how to be vigilant so younger children do not access batteries.
Tiny, button-sized batteries are just as dangerous to children as a can of drain cleaner disguised as soda pop.
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