Children face a growing risk from "button" batteries, according to a US study showing a near doubling of emergency room visits in the past two decades as the objects can cause electrical or chemical burns if swallowed.
Most of those emergency room trips are due to coin-shaped batteries that have become ubiquitous in toys, remote controls and hearing aids and represent a shiny temptation to curious toddlers, according to a study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Button" batteries carry extra risks, experts said, because they can send an electrical current throu gh eso phageal tissue, eventually even burning a hole in the trachea or the esophagus - without children showing any signs of immediate injury.