Pediatric emergency room doctors in Chicago say they treat patients who’ve swallowed button batteries every week — a situation that can be life threatening.
It’s something Trista Hamsmith knows all too well. Her toddler, Reese, swallowed a button battery when she was 16 months old.
At first, the doctors treating Reese thought she had croup, Hamsmith recalled. The next day, she realized a remote control in her home was missing a battery. That’s when Reese was admitted into the hospital.
Two months later, at just 18 months old, Reese passed away from the damage the battery caused.
“I always said she’d be a world changer. Boy is she,” Hamsmith told NBC 5 Responds.
Courtesy: Trista Hamsmith
Hamsmith carried her daughter’s spirit with her to pass Reese’s Law, federal legislation that bolstered safety requirements for button and coin batteries including secured battery compartments that require a tool or two independent and simultaneous hand movements to open. Packaging that includes a safety warning is also required.
If these rules were previously in place, Hamsmith said her daughter would still be alive today.
Courtesy: Trista Hamsmith
In addition to getting Reese’s Law passed, Hamsmith teamed up with Energizer to create the company’s new safety standards for button batteries, including a non-toxic bitter coating that’s intended to make a child spit out a battery and coating them in a substance that may help prevent severe chemical burns if swallowed.
The new standards also include “color alert” dye that turns a child’s mouth blue if they’ve placed a battery in their mouth — a clear sign for a parent to get their child to the emergency room.
Are doctors seeing an impact from the changes?
Lurie Children’s Hospital emergency room physician, Dr. Michelle Macy believes Reese’s Law and the improved safety standards from Energizer are game changers in the fight to protect kids from swallowing button cell batteries.
Macy says she treats at least one pediatric patient who’s swallowed a battery every week.
If you believe you child has swallowed any foreign material, getting them to the emergency department for an x-ray as soon as possible is key, Macy stressed.
If a button battery isn’t removed from the child’s body within two hours of ingestion, it can start to cause chemical burns, Macy said.
“If a battery is stuck in the esophagus, can start to cause burns. And if that burn happens, a burn can cause a hole in the esophagus and that can lead to serious complications and sometimes fatalities,” she told NBC 5 Responds.
Macy believes the changes Hamsmith pushed for will help save lives.
“I’m really excited about the changes that Reese’s Law is bringing to the industry,” she said.
What are the warning signs parents should watch for?
According to Lurie Children’s Hospital, signs your child may have swallowed a button battery may include:
- Drooling
- Trouble Swallowing
- Choking or Coughing Sounds
- Chest Pain
- Vomiting
- Belly Pain
