$Unique_ID{BRK00962}
$Pretitle{Accidents, Poisoning, and Violence}
$Title{Children and Foreign Objects in Body Orifices}
$Subject{foreign body battery}
$Volume{O-23}
$Log{}

Copyright (c) 1991   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


Children and Foreign Objects in Body Orifices


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QUESTION:  I know I should have been more careful, but when my 2 year old son
stuffed a small calculator battery up his nose, I did rush him to the
emergency room as quickly as possible.  Although the doctor tried to be
polite, I felt that he was uptight, and that he made a bigger thing out of
this than needed be.  All I know is that he really made me feel bad.  Can you
get inside his head and figure out what was bugging him?

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ANSWER:  Foreign bodies in every possible body orifice are common enough in
emergency room medicine, not only in children who have the habit of stuffing
small objects where they don't belong, but in adults too, who play some
unusual games.  But the concern you sensed in the physician was appropriate,
and I am happy to make his point of view clear to you.  While the usual run of
objects that find their way into noses, mouths and ears may include small
plastic parts from toys, marbles, pencil erasers, nuts, bolts and small
screws, as well as paper clips, hard candy and beans, peas and peanuts, none
of these items possess the same dangerous potential as those small button
batteries used for calculators, watches, games and even greeting cards.  The
battery has the added hazard of emitting electricity, capable of destroying
sensitive tissue linings of the nasal and ear passages.  In addition, they
also have the potential of leaking alkaline chemical components which can burn
these tissues and kill the cells.  They must be removed as promptly as
possible, using methods that reduce the probabilities of these complications.
The best medicine here is of course prevention, clearing the home of all the
small items which children just can not resist poking away in some available
body cavity.  While the doctor's bed side manner may have been unappealing,
his concern was valid.
ÿ
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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace 
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your 
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical 
problem.
