Every year, many children end up in hospital emergency rooms. Cases involving children ingesting multiple magnets and/or button batteries are generally resulting in more serious outcomes, including emergency surgery.
The results of a study documenting a rapid rise in pediatric injuries was published
in Annals of Emergency Medicine (“Rise in Pediatric Magnet-Related Foreign Bodies Requiring Emergency Care”) http://tinyurl.com/lfahfdd.
The magnets/button batteries in question were typically those found in kitchen gadgets or desk toys marketed to adults but irresistible to children.”
It is common for children to put things in their mouth and nose, but the risk of intestinal damage increases dramatically when multiple magnets or button batteries are swallowed. The ingestion of multiple items can severely damage intestinal walls to the point that some kids need surgery.
In cases where children ingested multiple magnets or button batteries, 15.7 percent were admitted to the hospital (versus 2.3 percent of single magnet ingestions). Nearly three quarters (74 percent) of magnets/batteries were swallowed; twenty-one percent were ingested through the nose. Nearly one quarter (23.4 percent) of the case reports described the items as “tiny,” or other variants on the word “small.”
Injuries were not restricted to small children. There were proportionally more nasal injuries involving older children, possibly because strong, attractive magnets are being used to imitate nose, tongue, lip, or cheek piercings. Parents need to be aware of the serious risk these magnets and button batteries pose if swallowed.
