If a child swallows a button battery, or swallows two or more strong magnetic beads, go at once to the emergency room of a hospital that has endoscopy; don't wait for it to pass on its own and don't make the child vomit

In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.

Cost

Free; the emergency X-ray and the removal are charged separately. Tighten the battery covers on remote controls, scales and car keys. Keep spare batteries and magnetic beads out of the child's reach. The hard part is that most of the time no one sees the child swallow it, and at first the child may have no symptoms at all.

What you get

U.S. poison database figures for 1985 to 2009 show that the share of button battery ingestions ending in serious injury or death rose 6.7 times. The most dangerous are lithium batteries 20 millimeters in diameter. Children under 4, and lithium batteries 20 millimeters or more in diameter, had clearly worse outcomes. A battery stuck in the esophagus needs only 2 to 2.5 hours to burn a serious injury that leaves lasting damage. In 92% of the deaths and 56% of the serious injuries, no one saw the child swallow it. At least 54% of the deaths and 27% of the serious injuries were misdiagnosed at first, because the symptoms were not typical. After the battery is removed, the injury keeps going deeper. Esophageal perforation, a hole between the esophagus and the airway or a large blood vessel, and massive bleeding can appear days later. In another analysis of 8,648 cases, 61.8% of the batteries swallowed by children under 6 were taken directly out of a device. The treatment guide of the U.S. National Poison Control Center says: if you suspect a battery was swallowed, "do not induce vomiting." A battery stuck in the esophagus "can cause severe burns in as little as 2 hours," and "do not wait for symptoms." Children under 12 should get an X-ray at once to find the battery. Product injury surveillance by the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (广东省疾控中心) shows nearly 100 injuries linked to accidental battery ingestion in the past five years, most from button batteries. Of those hurt, 92.9% were children aged 0 to 6. Moderate or severe injuries were 39.3%, and 25.0% needed hospital admission. Its advice is "seek medical care at once; do not induce vomiting or feed the child on your own." The same surveillance says that if Buckyballs (巴克球, magnetic beads) are swallowed, beads in adjacent loops of bowel will "attract and squeeze the bowel, causing bowel obstruction or perforation," and a suspected ingestion "should be taken to a hospital at once." A 2025 literature review included 130 children who had swallowed 2 or more magnets and developed connections between bowel loops (fistulas). The median age was 3.3 years, 95.5% needed surgery, 19% had complications after surgery, and 1 died

Notes

Graded B because the figures come from poison hotlines and case registries, with no comparison showing how many deaths following this prevents. The benefit is rated "large" by judgment: a battery in the esophagus can burn a serious injury in 2 hours, and most of the deaths were cases that no one saw and that were delayed by misdiagnosis. The beneficiary is almost always your own child. Bring the same model of battery, its packaging or the device along; the doctor needs it to identify which battery it is. On whether to give honey on the way, Chinese and foreign advice differ. The U.S. National Poison Control Center advises that a child aged 1 or over, who swallowed it less than 12 hours ago, can swallow, and happens to have honey at hand, can be given it: 10 milliliters every 10 minutes, up to 6 times. This rests on experiments in live pigs, and a 2023 review says the evidence in humans is still scant. The Guangdong CDC says not to feed anything. Never give honey to a child under 1 year. Honey can only slow the burn and cannot replace removal; don't delay leaving to look for honey. When a battery and magnets are swallowed together, the U.S. National Poison Control Center requires that the battery be removed even if it has reached the stomach. Older people swallow them too: in the 8,648 cases, 15.5% were swallowed by mistake as pills, mostly by older people. Of all the cases, 36.3% were hearing aid batteries. If something is stuck in the throat and the person can't breathe, first handle it as in §13.26 (choking: back blows plus abdominal thrusts) or §13.43 (a baby is choking). For swallowed cleaners and medicines, see §13.20 (swallowed cleaner).

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. Litovitz T 等 (2010). Emerging battery-ingestion hazard: clinical implications. Pediatrics 125(6):1168-1177. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-3037
2. Litovitz T, Whitaker N, Clark L (2010). Preventing battery ingestions: an analysis of 8648 cases. Pediatrics 125(6):1178-1183. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-3038
3. National Capital Poison Center. National Battery Ingestion Hotline Guideline：「If battery ingestion is suspected: Do not induce vomiting」「Batteries lodged in the esophagus may cause serious burns in as little as 2 hours. Do not wait for symptoms to develop」. https://www.poison.org/battery/guideline
4. 广东省疾病预防控制中心 (2025). 监测发现：这3种小物件易被孩子误吞，很多人家里都有，赶紧放好！. https://cdcp.gd.gov.cn/jkjy/jkzt/zlkz/content/post_4686546.html
5. Kelaidi N 等 (2025). Entero-Enteric Fistula Following Multiple Magnet Ingestion in Children: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine 14(17):6235. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176235
6. Nugud AA 等 (2023). Pediatric Magnet Ingestion, Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention: A European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Position Paper. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 76(4):523-532. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000003702
7. Anfang RR 等 (2019). pH-neutralizing esophageal irrigations as a novel mitigation strategy for button battery injury. Laryngoscope 129(1):49-57. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.27312
8. Schmidt YM, Muensterer O, Wendling-Keim D (2023). The use of honey in button battery ingestions: a systematic review. Frontiers in Pediatrics 11:1259780. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1259780

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 45. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer