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Comment by ghaff | Hacker News Reader

People are not going to stop using small replaceable batteries.

And kids will continue to die from them, if you want to be that absolute about the topic.

The devices themselves are probably choking hazards for young kids. As are a thousand other things around the house to say nothing of poisons.

The other thousand of things aren't as small though right?

Yes and items that are choking hazards for children are taken off the shelves. Poisonous chemicals must by law be clearly labeled and have child safety caps on them. Button batteries are not regulated, are found in more and more toys and devices that don't have necessary safety measures, have no warnings, are easily swallowed, the body gives no immediate reaction unlike chocking, is misdiagnosed because of this, and is an incredibly painful and prolonged death.

That ABC article I linked describes a family watching their 14-month old daughter dying over 19 days as the battery literally burns her insides while doctors continue to misdiagnose the problem until its too late. This is not a tragic one off incident, it is occurring repeatedly and will continue to do so if things stay as they are.

With mortality figures as low as they are it’s hard to see that number decreasing considerably with increased regulation. In each example there appears to be morbidity secondary to unacceptably delayed medical diagnosis. It is incredibly easy to spot a battery on a plain film and an infant/toddler presenting with the symptoms described warrants immediate suspicion.

Number of deaths is not the only metric of concern. The batteries can cause life changing injuries within hours. The immediate symptoms can be easily mistaken for a flu. Doctors do not require an X-ray for the flu. Without an X-ray the button goes undetected.

Excluding the issue of misdiagnosis, if every case was found by medical practitioner at first sight, there are still major complications and possible surgical intervention required to remove the battery.

These numbers are from a country with a population of 25 million. Im sure the numbers of injuries and deaths are much higher in countries like the US.

Think of the children!

Parents should be doing that.

It isn't a moral issue so the joke isn't relevant. The article I linked mentions that parents hid the real truth of their child's death for fear of judgement. Neither the parents nor the medical professionals were aware of the problem until it was too late, but I guess thats just the fault of bad parenting?

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