Seven-year-old child dies after surgery to remove swallowed watch battery

No one would have thought that a small watch battery carelessly discarded in a house would forever turn a house full of laughter into an ocean of tears.

Seven-year-old Nehan Takshila de Silva, a third-grade student at Thalaramba Indasara Vidyalaya, residing in Batavala, Weligama, tragically passed away after swallowing a button battery discarded at home, which led to severe complications.

Suspecting that their youngest son had swallowed something, the parents immediately took action and admitted the child for medical treatment. X-ray reports confirmed that a small battery was lodged inside the child's body. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, doctors promptly transferred the child first to Matara General Hospital and then to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle. After hospitalization, hospital authorities removed the battery from the child's stomach and discharged him home after two days of inpatient treatment.

Although everyone thought the danger had passed, the small chemical device had already caused fatal damage inside the child's body. Since returning home, Nehan had complained of back pain, and on the morning of the twenty-eighth, as he was getting ready for school, he told his parents that he had pain in his abdomen and head. Despite this, the phone call from the school stating that the child, who had gone to school, was suddenly vomiting blood, was enough to shatter the parents' world.

The child was immediately readmitted to Karapitiya Hospital and underwent an endoscopy. He later became unconscious and was admitted to the intensive care unit and underwent surgery. Although doctors and staff made strenuous efforts to save the child's life, that small heartbeat stopped forever on Sunday evening. Investigations conducted by Mr. Chandrasena Lokuge, the Judicial Medical Officer of Karapitiya Hospital, and Forensic Medical Officer Mr. U.D.A. Dissanayake revealed that internal bleeding, caused by damage to a major blood vessel in the lower intestine by the battery, was the cause of death.

Medical professionals point out that such small button batteries are extremely dangerous for children. When such a battery enters a child's mouth and mixes with saliva, it immediately produces an electric current, causing severe chemical burns inside the body. Even within a very short period, such as two hours after ingestion, the battery can be powerful enough to perforate the digestive tract or respiratory passages.

It is the parents' responsibility to ensure that battery covers on children's toys are secured with screws or covered with safety tape. Furthermore, even old, used batteries retain enough power to cause burns, so they, along with coins, beads, and small magnets, should be kept out of reach of children. If a child shows symptoms such as excessive drooling, refusing food, difficulty breathing, persistent coughing, vomiting, or stomach pain, and if ingestion of something is suspected, they should be immediately hospitalized without being given any food or drink. It is also advised never to attempt to induce vomiting in the child in such a situation.

As soon as such small button batteries come into contact with saliva, they cause chemical burns inside the body through a chemical reaction, and even within a short period of two hours, they can perforate internal organs. If adults do not pay closer attention to these silent killers hidden in children's toys or discarded household appliances, it is certain that the tragedy of Weligama, mourning Nehan's untimely demise, will be heard from another home tomorrow.