5 days Ago By [email protected] (Sophie Buchan)
Dr Xand van Tullken, a BBC Morning Live resident GP and regular on the show, has said that this festive season, the risk of one 'life threatening' situation will increase and you need to keep an eye out for the symptoms. Speaking on the show, the doctor said that kids can swallow batteries and stresses that the issues is an "important topic". "Although the risk is low, the risk is life-threatening, and you can reduce it or get it to zero if you are careful", he warns.
Explaining why the festive season brings the most risk, he says that at this time of year, there is a lot of chaos, and with kids roaming around, parents will find that suddenly "they can reach and grab, and things go in their mouth all the time." From bathroom scales to Christmas ornaments and cards with bits and bobs on them, they're all a hazard. Explaining that "the issue is not choking, the issue is that these batteries can do serious harm to your insides and the same is true with fridge magnets".
Talking about own kid, he says he "strikes like a cobra" and grabs everything calling the swallowing of a battery a "serious medial problem" - and if your kid is teething, they may be at more risk. What happens if you swallow a battery? Putting a battery between bacon an hour ago, Dr Xand shows: "I put a battery between two slices of bacon - and bacon is a pretty good mimic for human tissue". Putting on protective gloves, it does so much damage so much so that you can see a "chemical burn" which has burned through the meat.
"You can see the tissue is scarred and torn and burned" and with your stomach lining in that state, you'll have "stomach contents, gut contents leaking into your abdomen and that is terribly dangerous". What are the signs and symptoms of swallowing a battery? Dr Xand says that there may not be signs at the start, but weeks later it could show and if your kids don't tell you, it could become so bad that the battery has burned through a blood vessel or they have internal bleeding and damage to internal organs. "The difficulty is that you can swallow a battery the same way you swallow a pea or a piece of sweetcorn.
Initially you may not have any symptoms" but "slowly you child starts to get unwell" but they may not say what has happened. You should look out for: cough, gag or drool stomach upset being sick tummy, chest or throat pain tired or lethargic not eating reduced appetite Should I take my kid to A&E if they've swallowed a battery? Calling the situation a "medical emergency", he says that you need to visit A&E straight away. "Overreact and go to A&E.
They [batteries] show up very clearly on x-rays. They're not going to make you wait for 12 hours for this". Tell the staf fthat you think you kid has swallowed a battery and "if they're worried they can do an operation or use a scope to get it out".
How to prevent swallowing a battery always check gadget are safe check for missing batteries keep gadgets out of reach store batteries safely inform your family.
