Latest news with #buttonbattery
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Toddler 'Rushed to the ER' After Swallowing Button Battery. Nearly 2 Years Later, Mom Says the Recovery Has Been ‘Torture' (Exclusive)
Kasey Allen's son, Asa, accidentally swallowed a button battery in October 2023 Allen noticed something was wrong with Asa and rushed him to the hospital. It would be one of many trips they would take Now, she's using her platform on TikTok to raise awareness of the dangers of swallowing button batteriesIt was an ordinary day in October 2023 when Kasey Allen's world changed. Allen tells PEOPLE that she was tidying up while her kids were playing just a short distance away. However, as she was finishing up her chores, she didn't notice her then-16-month-old son, Asa, swallow a button battery. "Asa and my other two children were playing as I was picking up and cleaning in our RV," Allen recalls. "At some point, Asa grabbed the remote to the backup camera, which was mounted to the steering wheel, dropped it, the battery fell out, and picked it up and swallowed it." When Allen walked back into the area, she found the remote lying on the floor, and about 20 minutes later, Asa started showing scary symptoms. Allen says the little one began salivating, was noticeably flushed in his face, and became very whiny and fussy. Eventually, symptoms of fatigue began setting in. "I was unsure of what was going on because I didn't know there was a battery in the remote and didn't know the signs of symptoms of button battery ingestion," Allen explains. "I became worried as his symptoms lingered for about an hour, and then he started coughing up black flakes, which was the outer covering of the battery," she adds. "We rushed to the ER, where he was X-rayed, and they found he had swallowed a button battery." According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, more than 3,500 button batteries are ingested per year in the United States. Signs someone has swallowed a button battery include: noisy breathing, coughing, drooling, difficulty swallowing, a hoarse voice, vomiting, chest or abdominal pain, and gagging, coughing or choking with eating or drinking. When swallowed, the small lithium batteries often get stuck in the throat and saliva triggers an electric current, which can lead to severe burning, esophageal perforation, vocal cord paralysis and more. Allen says the recovery process has been "long, disappointing, expensive, exhausting for our family, and extremely hard to watch our son go through." "He's had to go weeks with only IV nutrition, months of torture going back and forth to the hospital, and has dealt with the difficulty of eating and swallowing for 18 months." Allen has been sharing Asa's story and journey of recovery on TikTok. The video she shared of Asa going in for his 27th dilation treatment went viral, amassing over 5.5 million views. "Miraculously, Asa has zero scarred tissue in his esophagus after four treatments from the new facility/doctor from whom we sought a second opinion," she says. "He's had approximately 27 dilations to stretch his esophagus. We haven't had to give him any feeds through his G-tube since his first dilation with his new doctor at the end of February. He is growing so big." Allen hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of button batteries by sharing their story online. "Be aware of what electronics in your home may contain a button battery and make sure it's properly secured with the screw that should now be in place, thanks to Reese's Law," she says. "Know the signs that follow the ingestion of a button battery." "If you think your child has swallowed a button battery, honey is said to slow the corrosion of the battery and could potentially be life-saving." A hack, Allen shares, that she didn't know at the time. Allen chose to share Asa's story on TikTok because she knows the app reaches millions of people around the world. "It was my best bet to get this information out quickly and efficiently," she shares. "We've had an outpouring of support and prayers and parents thankful for the information and awareness." For others that find themselves in a similar situation, she urged them to "find a support group, stay strong, and most importantly, learn how to advocate for your child." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Toddler 'Rushed to the ER' After Swallowing Button Battery. Nearly 2 Years Later, Mom Says the Recovery Has Been ‘Torture' (Exclusive)
Kasey Allen's son, Asa, accidentally swallowed a button battery in October 2023 Allen noticed something was wrong with Asa and rushed him to the hospital. It would be one of many trips they would take Now, she's using her platform on TikTok to raise awareness of the dangers of swallowing button batteriesIt was an ordinary day in October 2023 when Kasey Allen's world changed. Allen tells PEOPLE that she was tidying up while her kids were playing just a short distance away. However, as she was finishing up her chores, she didn't notice her then-16-month-old son, Asa, swallow a button battery. "Asa and my other two children were playing as I was picking up and cleaning in our RV," Allen recalls. "At some point, Asa grabbed the remote to the backup camera, which was mounted to the steering wheel, dropped it, the battery fell out, and picked it up and swallowed it." When Allen walked back into the area, she found the remote lying on the floor, and about 20 minutes later, Asa started showing scary symptoms. Allen says the little one began salivating, was noticeably flushed in his face, and became very whiny and fussy. Eventually, symptoms of fatigue began setting in. "I was unsure of what was going on because I didn't know there was a battery in the remote and didn't know the signs of symptoms of button battery ingestion," Allen explains. "I became worried as his symptoms lingered for about an hour, and then he started coughing up black flakes, which was the outer covering of the battery," she adds. "We rushed to the ER, where he was X-rayed, and they found he had swallowed a button battery." According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, more than 3,500 button batteries are ingested per year in the United States. Signs someone has swallowed a button battery include: noisy breathing, coughing, drooling, difficulty swallowing, a hoarse voice, vomiting, chest or abdominal pain, and gagging, coughing or choking with eating or drinking. When swallowed, the small lithium batteries often get stuck in the throat and saliva triggers an electric current, which can lead to severe burning, esophageal perforation, vocal cord paralysis and more. Allen says the recovery process has been "long, disappointing, expensive, exhausting for our family, and extremely hard to watch our son go through." "He's had to go weeks with only IV nutrition, months of torture going back and forth to the hospital, and has dealt with the difficulty of eating and swallowing for 18 months." Allen has been sharing Asa's story and journey of recovery on TikTok. The video she shared of Asa going in for his 27th dilation treatment went viral, amassing over 5.5 million views. "Miraculously, Asa has zero scarred tissue in his esophagus after four treatments from the new facility/doctor from whom we sought a second opinion," she says. "He's had approximately 27 dilations to stretch his esophagus. We haven't had to give him any feeds through his G-tube since his first dilation with his new doctor at the end of February. He is growing so big." Allen hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of button batteries by sharing their story online. "Be aware of what electronics in your home may contain a button battery and make sure it's properly secured with the screw that should now be in place, thanks to Reese's Law," she says. "Know the signs that follow the ingestion of a button battery." "If you think your child has swallowed a button battery, honey is said to slow the corrosion of the battery and could potentially be life-saving." A hack, Allen shares, that she didn't know at the time. Allen chose to share Asa's story on TikTok because she knows the app reaches millions of people around the world. "It was my best bet to get this information out quickly and efficiently," she shares. "We've had an outpouring of support and prayers and parents thankful for the information and awareness." For others that find themselves in a similar situation, she urged them to "find a support group, stay strong, and most importantly, learn how to advocate for your child." Read the original article on People
The Sun
30-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
Mum shares heartbreaking photo of baby boy fighting for life as a warning – after she found him coughing and drooling
A TODDLER was left "coughing up black chunks" then fighting for life after swallowing a button battery from a remote control. The tiny disc got lodged in 16-month-old Asa Allen's throat while he was playing outside with his two siblings. 11 Mum Kasey Allen, 32, who had travelled to visit her husband in Texas, United States, was cleaning the family campervan at the time. She found the camera remote on the floor in pieces and noticed a flushed Asa coughing and drooling 30 minutes later. Thinking he was simply a bit tired, the wedding photographer put the youngster down for a nap. But Kasey says when he woke up he appeared worse and started "coughing up black chunks". Concerned, the mum called a nurse friend who urged her to rush Asa to hospital. Asa had an X-ray at a local health centre, which revealed a button battery was lodged near his collarbone. He was referred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, where the battery was fished out from his oesophagus around nine hours after he swallowed it before he was put on a ventilator for six days. Kasey is sharing what happened to Asa, now three, in October 2023 as a stark warning to other parents. The parent, from Monroe, Louisiana, said: "He found a camera remote, which was mounted on the steering wheel. "I was in and out [of the campervan] but I never saw him get the remote. I then saw it lying on the floor in four pieces. The 19 surprising choking hazards in your home that are as dangerous as button batteries "I don't know exactly when he swallowed it but it was around 30 minutes after I found the remote that his symptoms started." She described her son as "really flushed and fatigued", adding: "He had started coughing a lot and salivating. "I thought, 'What has happened to you?'" 'It was like a punch in the gut' Kasey put a "tired" Asa down for a nap, but got the shock of her life when he woke up. "His symptoms were worse," she said. "He started coughing up black chunks of the battery coating and I thought, 'Oh my God, his insides are coming out, something is wrong'. "I called my friend who was a nurse practitioner and she asked me if he had access to a button battery. "I said he had dropped a remote and maybe there was one in there, and she told me to take him to the emergency room right away. "Doctors did the X-ray and he had swallowed a battery, which was lodged between his collarbone. "From there, they transported us to a bigger hospital and they needed three doctors to get it out. "By this time my husband was researching button batteries and I thought my son was going to die. "I was shocked, I couldn't even move, I really felt numb. It was like a punch in the gut." 11 11 11 After struggling to remove the battery from Asa's oesophagus, they eventually managed to get it out. "He came out [of surgery] and that was very scary for me to see because he did look dead," Kasey said. "He wasn't moving and he had a thousand tubes going in him." Asa had to do "a lot of physiotherapy" and learn how to swallow and chew again due to the damage from the button battery, which caused his oesophagus to shrink to just 0.1in (3mm). In November, the tot had reconstructive surgery on his oesophagus and was hospitalised for five weeks due to a leak from the organ. A year and a half on from his ordeal, Asa is fully healed and able to eat again. But Kasey, who has banned all button batteries from her house, wants to ensure all mums and dads keep electronics with them away from their kids. She said: "Please watch out for button batteries. "I don't have them in my house anymore. We don't even have toys with them as it's not worth a life. "Make sure everything is screwed in if something has one. I don't want what happened to Asa to happen to another kid. "It was a really scary time but I'm glad we're finally on the other side of it. "We got to keep him with us so we're very grateful." What to do if your child swallows a button battery BUTTON batteries - also known as coin batteries - are small, flat, circular batteries used to power everything from watches to calculators, remote controls to car keys, and electronic toys to LED lights. They can cause severe problems if swallowed. Great Ormond Street Hospital says: "The problems caused by button batteries are not usually due to chemicals leaking from the battery but because the battery itself reacts with bodily fluids, such as mucus or saliva. "This creates a circuit to release a substance like caustic soda, which is a strong alkali that can burn through tissue. "An alkaline substance is at the opposite end of the pH scale to an acid but is just as dangerous. "Even 'dead' batteries have the potential to release the alkali so should be treated just as carefully as new batteries." If a child has swallowed a button battery, they might: Vomit fresh, bright red blood Cough, gag or drool a lot Appear to have an upset stomach or virus Vomit Point to their throat or tummy Say they have pain in their tummy, chest or throat Be tired or lethargic Be quieter or more clingy than usual, or otherwise 'not themselves' Lose their appetite Not want to or be unable to eat solid food If you think your child has ingested a button battery, take the following steps: Go straight to A&E Tell a doctor Take the battery packaging or product with you Don't let them eat or drink Don't make them sick It's important to get medical help as soon as possible. "The button battery may have caused significant damage to the lining of the child's oesophagus (foodpipe) – in some cases it may have burned through the oesophagus completely to form a hole," GOSH adds. "This may create a passage (fistula) between the oesophagus and the trachea (windpipe). It may also have damaged the vocal cords. "It may have burned through the blood vessels in the chest area, including the aorta (main blood vessel leading from the heart)." She added: "Asa had so much scarring. He couldn't eat real food, he would throw it up. "His oesophagus had shrunk down 0.1in (3mm); for his age it should be around 0.5in (12mm). "In November, he had reconstructive surgery. We were meant to be in hospital for five days but ended up staying for five weeks because there was a leak from his oesophagus. "It is now at 0.6in (15mm) and he is able to eat. "He's made amazing progress. He had never swallowed anything like that before - he wasn't even putting things in his mouth, which kids his age tend to do. "The first thing he put in his mouth was a button battery." 11 11 11 11 11
