- Little Rosantina swallowed battery two days before it was surgically removed
- *** WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES OF BURNS ***
A mother has warned other parents over button batteries after her nine-month-old baby girl was left with a burnt throat when she accidentally swallowed one.
Kiara West, 24, first noticed a problem when her daughter Rosantina West began wheezing on February 14.
When her husband Daniel West, 22, took their baby to the ER, doctors sent them home with a nebuliser, suggesting Rosantina had RSV, a respiratory virus much like the common-cold.
But when her baby’s wheezing got worse, Ms West took her to Minnesota Children’s Hospital on February 16, where an x-ray quickly revealed that a button battery was lodged in her oesophagus.
The small, shiny batteries are used in devices like TV remotes, watches, calculators and kitchen weighing scales – and they are behind several children having to be hospitalised every week since swallowing them can cause severe burns.
The acid leaking from the batteries starts to burn through the oesophagus as little as 30 minutes after being ingested, causing life-long injuries and in some cases, even death.
Mother-of-two Ms West was left in tears when doctors revealed just how lethal the button battery could be, before Rosantina was quickly admitted to the operating table.
Daniel, who works as a forklift operator, later discovered two items at home that they suspect the button battery could have come from: a remote for LED lights or their three-year-old son Kidan’s light-up toy car for the bath.
While a surgeon was able to successfully remove the battery from Rosantina’s throat, the couple now hope to warn others of the dangers button batteries can pose.
Ms West, from Chanhassen, Minnesota, said: ‘At first when it happened I just noticed her wheezing. My husband took her to the local ER and they sent her home saying it was RSV, a respiratory issue.
‘They sent her home with a nebuliser and they said it’d get better after a few times of using it.
‘I used it all night one day, all Thursday, but then Friday morning her wheezing got even worse. I thought ‘I need to take her to the children’s hospital’.
‘That’s where they ended up taking an x-ray and seeing that she’d swallowed the button battery. My heart just dropped to my stomach.
‘I heard “battery” and thought “wow that’s bad” because of the acid.
‘I didn’t even know how much damage that could have caused but seeing it lodged in there, I was as scared and shocked as any parent would be.
‘Everyone seemed so rushed and I started to think “maybe this is worse than what I thought?”
‘I already thought it was bad but they quickly started prepping her for the operating room.
‘They said the button battery is one of the worst batteries a child could swallow and that she had it lodged in her oesophagus. It burnt into her oesophagus.
‘Rosantina was just crying and crying. She’s only nine months old so we couldn’t even explain to her what was happening.’
The terrified mum only realised the extent of the danger when her husband arrived and doctors explained again how bad button batteries can be.
The hospital gave Rosantina medicine to coat the battery before putting her under anaesthesia and operating on her throat to remove the battery.
She remained intubated for six days after the surgery due to the damage caused to her oesophagus, with her parents unable to talk to her or touch her.
Ms West said: ‘My husband came immediately. They explained everything to him and that’s when I really started listening.
‘At first, I’d been so focused on my daughter and what was going to happen that I was just in my head.
‘But then Daniel was like ‘okay you need to stop crying’ that’s when I started listening. They said they were going to have a lot of trouble because it was burnt into her tissue.
‘The operation was thankfully successful but there was so much damage done to her oesophagus that she had to be intubated.
‘After her operation we didn’t even get to talk to her or touch her until six days later. I think she could hear us a little bit but that was it.’
Relieved that their precious daughter has now recovered, the couple believe it was a ‘miracle’ the damage wasn’t worse, with doctors suspecting the battery may have been dead.
Since then, the pair have removed all items in their house with button batteries and warn other parents to do the same or invest in a play pen to help keep an eye on little infants.
Ms West said: ‘It was almost like a miracle. All the doctors were super surprised that her damage wasn’t as bad as it could be.
‘They think she may have swallowed a dead battery so it might be why it wasn’t quite as bad.
‘I’d definitely warn other parents to check all their kids’ toys to make sure they don’t have button batteries and just throw them out if they do.
‘Of course some household items need them and things like hearing aids, but make sure the screws are tightly screwed on.
‘We’ve looked through everything in the house with button batteries and gotten rid of them. A play pen is also definitely something that could potentially help busy parents.
‘Infants get into everything especially when they start crawling so maybe consider that for extra precautions.’
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
