Keep it away from toddlers - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 04:25:13 am
content: This is old news (Last May) but it just popped up in my list. I was surprised by the amount of damage a coin battery would do!Source "UK - The Sun""A TODDLER nearly died after he swallowed a tiny battery which burned a HOLE through his gullet.Two-year-old Logan Stiff ingested the life-threateningbutton battery- which came from a remote control - while being looked after near his home in Colorado, USA, last May.Within hours the tot began vomiting as the battery burned a hole in his oesophagus and weakened the wall of his trachea." [RL: bold added by me]From the picture, it looks like a CR2032 type coin battery. I am amazed it did that much damage.http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6924621/Toddler-nearly-died-after-swallowing-tiny-battery-which-burned-HOLE-through-his-gullet.html

author: chris_leyson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 04:42:22 am
content: Quantum Coat is supposed to overcome this sort of problem,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29885832I don't know if any manufacturers are using this coating, probably not, costs too much. I was being cynical, but a Google seach didn't bring up a single manufacture.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 04:56:46 am
content: Wow, what a horrible tragedy. I had no idea these coin-cell "button" batteries could be so dangerous! Is part of the problem the small gap between the positive and negative surfaces of the battery, and higher voltage Lithiums (3V) resulting in an easily conducting path once moistened in some electrolytic fluid (such as saliva)?

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:13:58 am
content: The larger diameter would have caused it get wedged in place, making firm contact with the tissue and causing damage to the same spot over time.Many years ago I was changing one of my son's nappies and found an AG3 battery where I'd never expect to find one. My wife and I were freaked out and checked with our doctor immediately. My fears were of something like the above horror story.He looked at the discoloured (but washed) battery and said we were lucky. Since it had passed through but remained intact, it should be ok. It's smaller size was undoubtedly one saving grace.To this day we still don't know where he found it - but you can bet we were paranoid about button batteries for years.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:30:36 am
content: Yeah, batteries can do nasty things to GI tracts. Ballpoint pens can be dangerous too:

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:33:30 am
content: Quote from: mtdoc on February 12, 2016, 05:30:36 amFunny thing is that most radiologists will miss them because they are not trained to find extraneous objects.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:34:05 am
content: If a toddler swallowed a coin cell, it wouldn't have toburna hole in his throat. It wouldteara hole. His throat wouldn't be nearly big enough. I suspect that some adults would have trouble swallowing some coin cells.I'm really sceptical that there was an electrical effect here. Just to see what happened, I measured the resistance of my tongue. I got 10 - 20 Kohms. Caustic soda? Seriously? I'm nowhere near an expert on biomedical matters, but......

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:37:18 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on February 12, 2016, 05:33:30 amSorry but I disagree. Instant malpractice suit (deserved) for any radiologist missing a battery or a pen. They miss lots of things but I've never seen one miss a foreign object of any consequence. Not to say it never happens but it is exceedingly rare.

author: owiecc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:49:49 am
content: Quote from: mtdoc on February 12, 2016, 05:37:18 amThey did studies on that. Doctors were shown CT scans with a big gorilla embedded into the picture. They were not lookin for a gorilla so they did not find it.http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/31/when-experts-go-blind/

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:56:17 am
content: Quote from: edpalmer42 on February 12, 2016, 05:34:05 amNo the esophagus is extremely flexible and can easily dilate to accommodate a coin cell without tearing-even in a toddler. They can in fact pass them as they do pennies, nickles and even quarters sometimes!QuoteI was skeptical about electrical effects as well. I was curious so just did a quick look atUp To Date. Here's probably more than anyone here wants to know about battery ingestion - Well I found it interesting anyways. I've bolded the relevant part:Quote

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 05:58:00 am
content: Quote from: owiecc on February 12, 2016, 05:49:49 amLOL! Well no doubt. Radiologists are not trained to look for gorillas in lungs!It's actually a pretty interesting article if you read it. Thanks for posting it.The thing about foreign objects (as opposed to gorillas!) is that they are usually quite radio opaque and so generally stand out on xrays very prominently. In fact sometimes so much so that I've seen radiologists hone in on the foreign object in their report and totally ignore the area of more clinical importance. This gets to what that article was talking about.I look at a lot of xrays - and I miss things all the time. But then I'm not paid even half of what the average radiologist is!

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 06:11:16 am
content: Quote from: mtdoc on February 12, 2016, 05:58:00 amI did work at a radiology research department. Radiologists are trained to look at soft tissues and they are good at finding frequencies and patterns that don't belong in the tissue they are examining.They are great at pattern matching but that's all they look for. The primary practitioner when reviewing the image with the radiologist might see the foreign objects, that is depending how much workload they have. Radiologists used to be paid by viewing so they like to keep the readings pretty efficient with the techs preparing the xrays before hand so the doctor can maximize the readings.Foreign object retention happens sometimes during surgery, hemostat clamps and other things might be missed inside the patient and the radiologist since they are not looking for them won't see them.Radiology is a very fascinating field btw.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 06:31:22 am
content: I was just talking with my wife who is a pediatrician about this (I'm a family doc). She hadn't realized electrical discharge was part of the pathophysiology of battery ingestion either.But here's the interesting tidbit:She pointed out that swallowing magnets is much more dangerous than swallowing batteries (which if known can usually be easily removed before causing damage) If you swallow one magnet - no problem. But when toddlers swallow more than one and they pass through the bowel separately and can end up attracted to each other in adjacent loops of bowel - sticking them together, remaining there and causing an obstruction or perforation. This means major surgery.So keep your kidos away from any small magnets in your lab..

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 07:10:34 am
content: Quote from: mtdoc on February 12, 2016, 06:31:22 am+1 for this.In particular, if you've taken apart a hard drive and salvaged those magnets, keep them far, far away from toddlers. Those things are so powerful that if they pinch your finger, they can raise a blood blister. I call them 'Carnivorous Magnets'. I shudder to think what could happen if a toddler swallowed two of those! The smallest one I've got in my collection is cylindrical, about 3 mm in diameter by 4 mm long. Just perfect for swallowing!Also, fascinating info on 'Button and cylindrical battery ingestion'. Thanks for posting it! My only comment there is that it looks like the authors are all medical doctors. It would be interesting to see an analysis by a biomedical engineer.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2016, 11:12:48 pm
content: Quote from: miguelvp on February 12, 2016, 06:11:16 amIsn't all that pattern-detection, exception-detection done now by algoritms?

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2016, 02:28:36 pm
content: I don't know, I left the field back in the mid late nineties and never looked back.