Button batteries are small (less than one centimeter in diameter) batteries usually used to power wrist watches and small clocks. Children often accidentally inhale or swallow them due to their size and availability.

Expectations (prognosis)

The outcome depends entirely upon whether it is inhaled and causes respiratory compromise, or if it is swallowed and causes esophageal or stomach perforation. Any of those situations are immediately life-threatening, and survival depends on the time to treatment and the success of emergency treatment. Most swallowed batteries, however, do pass through the GI tract without causing any serious damage.