Toddler hospitalized after swallowing toy phone battery

A two-and-a-half boy from AA. Ukulhas has been admitted to the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) after he swallowed the battery of a toy phone.

The toddler had swallowed the battery last Saturday.

He was initially treated at the Ukulhas Health Center.

Ukulhas Health Center’s manager Abdulla Saeed told Sun that the toddler had been transferred to the regional hospital in AA. Rasdhoo to confirm whether he still had the battery inside him.

“It was a lithium battery. The type that’s used in watches. The round ones,” he said.

Saeed said that an X-ray taken at the regional hospital showed the boy still had the battery inside him, and he was transferred to Male’ to extract it.

The boy’s mother, who spoke to Sun on condition of anonymity, said her son had somehow removed the cap to the battery on the toy phone he had been playing with, and removed the battery and put it in his mouth.

“He is two-and-a-half years. But he barely speaks. He is a slow talker. I was in the kitchen after feeding him. He came holding his toy phone. He gave it to me, called out to me, open his mouth, and put his finger in,” said the mother.

She said that IGMH had taken another X-ray to pinpoint the exact location of the battery, and that it showed the battery had travelled too far down extract it through the boy’s mouth.

She said the hospital advised her to have him hospitalized, and give liquids and fruits to her son, to see if he passes the battery naturally, before opting for surgery.

The mother said that that she followed the hospital’s instructions, and the battery passed naturally from his body.

Noting that such, incidents, though rare, could put children at serious risk, Ukulhas Health Center advised parents to ensure items such as pins and coins that can be ingested by children are kept out of their reach.