E-Paper
Battery-operated toys hazardous for kids
The next time you go to buy a battery-operated toy for your little one, think twice!
The next time you go to buy a battery-operated toy for your little one, think twice!
Children often take out a small battery out of a toy and put it inside their mouth while playing. If it goes inside the stomach, the battery releases alkaline, which can cause ulcers.
The Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) gets around eight such cases every month.
It's important to get the battery/hazardous substance out of the stomach within 30 minutes to 5 hours of its consumption. Similar thing applies if a child has swallowed a Jamun seed, safety pin, needle or any other harmful object, said Professor SK Yacha, HoD, gastro-paediatrics, SGPGIMS.
Addressing paediatricians from across the country at the annual conference on Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (PEDGASTROCON-2012) on Friday, he said: “In such cases small neonatal endoscopes are used to locate the battery or pin consumed by a child and removed by experts."
Experts agreed that doctors must refer the case to a hospital that has neonatal endoscope or illeoscope.
The SGPGIMS is among the only three centres in the country having illeoscopic diagnosis facility.
