Primary Children’s Hospital is warning parents about the dangers of toys with magnets or button batteries after seeing several cases of them being ingested by kids.

(PRUnderground) December 5th, 2024

Kids’ toys can do more than ever thanks to advances in technology, but with that advancement comes serious concerns for small children who can ingest parts of the toys.

Trauma surgeons at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital are warning parents about the dangers of toys with magnets or button batteries after seeing several cases of them being ingested by kids.

These magnets and button batteries can have lasting health impacts on children even after they’re removed.

“We have seen several cases of children ingesting these items, and they can do serious harm like magnets pinching their intestines together or button batteries getting stuck and burning the esophagus,” said Laurie Baumann, MD, trauma surgeon at University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. “In some cases, we have to do emergency surgery to remove them and it’s only the start of their health issues.”

This happened to the McMillan family when their 1-year-old son, Luke, ingested a button battery from a toy, but no one knew it happened.

His mother, Erica, noticed he had trouble eating and when they checked with local doctors in Arizona, they suggested it might be something else.

When the issue persisted, they asked doctors for an X-ray and discovered the button battery, which had been lodged in Luke’s esophagus for months.

“It was hard not knowing what’s wrong with your child, and then to find out it’s a button battery was terrifying,” said Erica. “I just want parents to know this can happen so quickly, and to know what toys they are playing with.”

After the battery was removed, Erica’s family began looking for long-term treatment options for the damage done to his esophagus. They decided to bring Luke up to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City for a less invasive treatment.

Although the battery didn’t burn his insides, Luke, now 3 years old, must go to the hospital every six months to have his esophagus stretched to make sure it stays open.

Doctors are hoping his body can grow out of needing the treatments, but for now, the damage is lasting.

Surgeons note these toys aren’t bad, but might not be appropriate for young kids. If other children in the house have these toys, it’s important to discuss keeping them away from their smaller siblings.

“These kinds of cases can have devastating impacts on a baby and it’s hard to know what’s happening because they’re too young to verbalize what’s happened,” said Dr. Baumann. “Our hope is by having this information before holiday shopping, we can help reduce these types of emergencies in the future.”

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.

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Original Press Release.