Campaign warns parents of battery dangers
Campaign warns parents of battery dangers By Chris Martinez/CBS | May 12, 2021 at 3:30 PM CDT - Updated May 12 at 3:30 PM
(CBS) - From key fobs to remotes for toys, lithium batteries are everywhere in our homes, but many parents are not aware just how dangerous they can be for children.
Evie Kientz was just over a year old when her family almost lost her. Kristin, Evieâs mother, said five months ago, her daughter swallowed a small lithium coin battery about the size of a nickel that had fallen out of a toy. Evie was rushed to the hospital right away.
it can cause a hole from the esophagus into the trachea. in children where this has happened, they can lose a lot of blood and potentially die. reporter: about 3,500 cases of button cell battery ingestion are reported annually to poison control centers. 13 children have died. some complications include children losing their voice. others require feeding tubes. manufacturers are working on making compartments that hold button butteries more secure. hazel probably found the battery when it fell out of the family s remote control. though she still has some difficulty swallowing from damage to her esophagus, and may need surgery, she is once again thriving. hazel s a really tough kid. it never would have occurred to us that that amount of damage could be caused by something so common. reporter: sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. and sharyn let you see the size of those batteries.