Family, medical professionals warn of risks posed by ingestible batteries, magnets during holidays

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Luke McMillan was just a year old when he swallowed a button battery that lodged in his esophagus.

Courtesy Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital

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This X-ray photo shows a battery in the esophagus of 1-year-old Luke McMillan.

Courtesy Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital

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Luke McMillan was just a year old when he swallowed a button battery that lodged in his esophagus. This X-ray photo shows a battery in the esophagus of 1-year-old Luke McMillan.

When Luke McMillan was just a year old, his mother noticed he started to have trouble eating, so she took him to the doctor.

At the time, nobody knew the little boy had swallowed a button battery designed to go inside a toy.

“My husband, KC, and I weren’t home at the time and Luke had been crawling around and picked it up and swallowed it,” said his mother, Erica McMillan. “He acted sick, so we took him to the doctor and they said he had an ear infection.”

The issue persisted, so Luke’s parents took him back to the doctor, only to be told he had acid reflux, but that didn’t sit right with them, so they continued to persist for answers. This time, an X-ray was taken and within five minutes, Luke was sent to the emergency room where the battery was removed.

“It was hard not knowing what’s wrong with your child, and then to find out it’s a button battery was terrifying,” Erica McMillan said. “I just want parents to know this can happen so quickly, and to know what toys they are playing with.”

Although the battery was removed, it had caused damage to the little boy’s esophagus. Now, at the age of 3, Luke must return to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital every six months to have his esophagus stretched to make sure it stays open.

Luke’s parents, along with Intermountain Health trauma surgeon Dr. Laurie Baumann, spoke at a press conference Dec. 5 at Primary Children’s Hospital in an effort to warn other parents of the dangers that could be lurking in their children’s toys, especially as the holidays roll around.

Baumann, a trauma surgeon at University of Utah Health and Primary Children’s, said when a button battery is swallowed, the liquid from the throat can activate the battery within minutes. This can lead to esophageal burning, requiring emergency surgery.

“We have seen several cases of children ingesting these items and they can do serious harm, like magnets pinching their intestines together or button batteries getting stuck and burning the esophagus,” she said. “In some cases, we have to do emergency surgery to remove them and it’s only the start of their health issues.”

Baumann then pulled out a magnet toy to show how small each individual piece can be easily swallowed.

“They’re quite small and they’re sort of a fun idea. You can take them apart and change them around. But the problem is, when they’re swallowed, they can move through the intestine and come back together and pinch the intestine,” she said. “This requires emergency surgery — sometimes multiple surgeries — and bowel resections, and the child can become quite sick and even septic.”

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are several toy parts that can be especially dangerous for children. Water beads, for instance, are small, water-absorbing balls that are often clear or come in a variety of colors. When exposed to water, they can grow 100 times their original size. The beads are sold as toys, come in craft kits and even be used as sensory tools for children with developmental disabilities.

“CPSC has heard heartbreaking stories from parents whose children ingested water beads and suffered severe consequences including grave internal injuries, lifelong health impacts and death,” the company said in a statement on its website.

Some water beads also have acrylamide toxicity. Acrylamide is a chemical found in some foods, tobacco smoke and industrial processes and is a known carcinogen. When inserted into the ear, the water beads can damage ear structures, causing hearing loss and requiring surgery.

From 2018 to 2022, CPSC reported nearly 7,000 water-related ingestion injuries treated in emergency departments across the country.

KC McMillan said they were fortunate Luke didn’t lose his life from swallowing the battery.

“He’s the youngest of five boys and his four brothers did a lot of praying for him. They were just as scared as we were,” he said. “That feeling of how we might lose him was one of the worst feelings in the world. We are blessed to still have him here with us.”

Not only are the batteries in toys, they’re in watches, key fobs, LED lights and more, so they can pose a danger all year round. Baumann said it’s important to educate people about the seriousness and life-threatening and long-term risks they can pose, in addition to the dangers from other items.

“These kinds of cases can have devastating impacts on a baby, and it’s hard to know what’s happening because they’re too young to verbalize what’s happened,” she said.

Above all, Baumann and the McMillans said to keep batteries, magnets and other dangers out of the reach of young children.

Other dangers to children over the holidays include breakable ornaments, lightbulbs and tinsel. Plants such as mistletoe, holly, bittersweet, Jerusalem cherry and amaryllis are toxic if eaten, according to kidshealth.org. Bubble lights contain a harmful chemical if swallowed, and snow sprays are hazardous if the powder is swallowed or the aerosol is sprayed into the eyes or onto the skin.

If you think your child has ingested something harmful, take them to the emergency department immediately and call Poison Control at 800-222-1222.