This week on
Australian Story is “Sisters in Arms” which profiles two mothers who campaigned for safety regulations on button batteries.
Button batteries lurk inside many seemingly harmless household items from musical birthday cards to remote controls to stuffed toys.
To an adult they’re just a battery but to a small child their shiny appearance can be fascinating. And potentially lethal.
For emergency paediatrician Ruth Barker, the dangers of button batteries are a dirty industry secret. “Button batteries are really like cockroaches in our houses. They’re everywhere,” she says.
Barker estimates our hospitals see up to 20 children a week who are suspected of having swallowed or inserted a button battery.