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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Lithium button cells could cause extreme damage or loss of life if swallowed.
- Many manufacturers coat their batteries in a bitter substance to discourage ingestion.
- Energizer has now added a marker dye to make it simpler to identify ingestion.
Lithium button cell (generally referred to as coin cell) batteries are in every single place, from automobile key fobs to AirTags. And whereas they appear harmless sufficient, if ingested, they will trigger extreme damage from esophageal or airway injury in lower than two hours, which may, within the worst instances, end in loss of life.
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Every year within the US alone, some 3,500 button cells are swallowed, largely by kids. I’ve encountered one such damage myself, and seen various examples in first assist coaching supplies, and it’s no joke.
Making button cells safer requires two issues: stopping unintentional ingestion and with the ability to spot if a button cell has been ingested.
For just a few years now, a number of button cell producers have been coating their batteries in Bitrex, a innocent chemical compound that is probably the most bitter substance identified. A thimbleful in an Olympic-sized swimming pool could make all of the water bitter.
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This substance is added to a wide selection of merchandise to forestall ingestion, from bleach and antifreeze to Nintendo sport playing cards. And let me inform you, these items is terrible (in case you do not consider me, you’ll be able to really request a free style take a look at package from the maker).
One other step that producers have taken is to make the packaging laborious to open with out utilizing scissors. This makes it a lot tougher for adults and kids alike to entry new batteries.
Moving into the packaging is the primary hurdle that toddlers must cross.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
It isn’t even straightforward with scissors!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Battery maker Energizer has taken issues a step additional with its Coloration Alert line. Along with hard-to-open packaging and a liberal software of Bitrex, a patch of dye has been utilized to the battery to make it extra apparent if it has been in somebody’s mouth. The Coloration Alert line covers widespread button cell sizes akin to CR2032, CR2025, and CR2016.
The food-grade dye is utilized in dots to the again of the battery. It does not appear to be a lot, but it surely’s greater than sufficient!
As soon as this comes into contact with water or saliva, it dissolves and spreads quickly, going in every single place. The brilliant blue actually reveals up in opposition to pores and skin, particularly within the mouth and on the tongue.
The dye stains pores and skin for a lot of hours (in my checks, it stayed on my pores and skin for a lot of hours, resisting a number of makes an attempt to scrub it off), and might alert caregivers to the truth that a button cell might have been ingested.
The dye will get in every single place and may be very persistent!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Oh sure, and remember in regards to the Bitrex within the dye. I taste-tested it and regretted it!
Sure, there’s Bitrex within the dye. Right here I utilized a small dot of the dye to my tongue and regretted it!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
When you suspect {that a} button cell has been ingested, go to the emergency room instantly.
In case you are not sure, name Poison Management instantly on 1-800-222-1222.
The dye and Bitrex coating appear to have no impact on the usability of the batteries. There was a difficulty with some Duracell cells being problematic in some gadgets — notably AirTags — however I’ve not had any related points with the Energizer cells.
These are the most secure button cells I’ve used, so I like to recommend shopping for solely them. They hold you protected (not that the majority of my readers are going to eat batteries), hold kids and susceptible individuals round you protected, and in addition assist to maintain pets protected (yeah, a few of them will eat coin cells, too).
I’ve had no drawback with Energizer batteries — I additionally use the lithium AA and AAA batteries the place I would like lengthy life or resistance to chilly temperatures — and costs are affordable. A six-pack of CR2032, probably the most generally used dimension, and the one that matches into AirTags, is barely $7.
