Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) surgeon at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Kwabena Agyenim Boateng, has cautioned parents to beware of their children using disc batteries.
He says the battery, usually flat, small and found in children’s toys and other appliances, is one of the biggest ENT threats to the health of children, especially when mistakenly swallowed.
According to Dr. Boateng, a disc battery contains charges and other liquid contents that are harmful to the child’s immune system if put in the ear, nose, or throat.
He explained this in a conversation on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning show with Asieduwaa Akumia on Tuesday.
“The charges are going to create a closed circuit that will damage the tissues over there. There’s a leakage of the contents. Many of them have mercury and other heavy metals that are leaked into the tissue, causing further damage.”
[embedded content]“The fact that it is lodged over there, it’s lodged at what we call normal or topical constrictions, and there’s pressure at that particular place. So, eventually, there’s damage because of the pressure that’s over there.”
The continued pressure, he added, gradually weakens the major organs, thereby perforating and bursting the oesophagus within 2 hours or more.
The surgeon went ahead to warn viewers, especially those with little children at home, about the long-term effects of this hazard, such as hearing impairment.
He mentioned how, if swallowed, it can get stuck in the ooesophagus and be a choking hazard, or it can leak its content into the ooesophagus and damage multiple tissues, bursting the food pipe.
“Eventually, if it stays too long, it bursts the oesophagus; that is the pipe that food goes through. The moment your child’s oesophagus bursts, it’s a very dangerous situation, and that can take 2.5 hours to happen, especially if the battery is new. So it’s important to monitor little children when they are playing.”
He equally advised that parents shouldn’t try to cure their children by trying to induce vomiting, as it may complicate things.
“So your child has swallowed something; whatever it is, don’t attempt to induce vomiting as a way of having to get it out. Some of them may give their child palm oil or something to drink in an attempt to throw it up and then bring it out. That’s a danger because in your attempt to make your child throw up, all a child could inhale, and whatever is coming out can go into the airway, and that’s a dangerous situation. Your child will become very sick aside from the fact that that thing will not even come out; in addition, your child now develops pneumonia and other things,” he alerted.
He pleaded with parents and guardians to pay keen attention to the kind of toys they purchase for their offspring and to make sure that none of them will give easy access to the toy’s batteries.
Disc batteries are small coin-shaped batteries used in calculators, watches, toys, musical greeting cards, and hearing aids, amongst other devices.
Coins, nails, perk hooks, earrings, beads, corn, beans, padlocks, and keys are some objects that are equally dangerous for children if swallowed or put into the nasal cavity or ear.
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