X-ray reveals danger hidden in popular toddler toys: 'Be careful'
A woman has issued a warning to parents after her son swallowed a battery from a sensory toy and ended up in hospital for five days.
The mum's story was shared on Tiny Heart Education's Facebook page, along with the images of the son's X-ray.
The mum explained her four-year-old son got a sensory toy with lights during a shopping trip in 2020.
However, just a few days later, the boy broke the toy open and curious to see what was inside, he got the light ball out.
The ball bounced around and eventually broke open, with the batteries falling out. The mum explained she didn't see this happen, but she knew something was going on as her son was being quiet.
As soon as the mother saw the broken ball on the floor, she rushed to get her other son's toy, which was exactly the same and cut it open. The mother counted three batteries in her other son's toy.
The boy's father told him how serious it could be if he didn't tell him the truth and the four-year-old boy admitted to swallowing one battery and hiding two in the couch.
Within 15 minutes, the mum and her son were in an ambulance.
"We were super lucky as it was so small and didn't get stuck anywhere - it shot straight through into his tummy, and then bowel," the mum explained.
They had him on a drip to neutralise his stomach acid, and medication to open up his bowels. This process was to assist it in safely moving through his bowels faster."
She said as there was no acid from the battery in his bowels, it was safe for the boy to pass it. The boy remained in hospital for five days, which the mum said was "very stressful".
She added if her son hadn't passed the battery within five days, he would have had to have surgery to remove it.
"I think what helped was that we had him in ED within 20 mins of it happening," the mum said.
"We are very very lucky he is ok. The scary part is he knew what he did, as we have spoken about the dangers of batteries many times.
"Go through all their toys and make sure anything with batteries are secure or remove them."
The mum also said other parents should let anyone tell them they are being "paranoid or over-protective".
"If it wasn't for my Mum instincts that day, things could have been much worse," she said.
Swallowing batteries can be fatal — just last year a two-year-old girl from the UK died. Toddler Harper-Lee Fanthorpe died in hospital after she swallowed a battery from a remote control.
An inquest into her death found that battery acid burned through her food pipe and into a major artery.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
