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Poison Center Warns Parents Against Dangerous Toys

The W.Va. Poison Center warned parents about new forms of an old danger: batteries and magnets.

Dr. Christopher Goode runs the Emergency Room at United Hospital Center in Bridgeport. But in his other role, he plays dad to two young boys, ages four and eight. He's seen emergencies with them, too.

"You know I have boys and boys like to help change things," he said.

He referred to batteries; but whether big or small, they pose a risk, along with small magnets.

And now more than ever, they're in your children's toys.

I spoke via Skype with Carissa McBurney, spokesperson for the W.Va. Poison Center in Charleston.

"With new technologies and with new children's toys and desk novelties, high-powered magnets are available to children," McBurney said.

The new toys included magnetic building sets that poison control called "modern Lincoln logs."  The Poison Center has taken hundreds of calls about new battery-operated and magnetic toys in the last year, McBurney said.

"Small batteries can come from a number of things," Goode said.  "They can come from toys, watches and remote controls for your garage door opener. What's very popular that people don't think about is they can come from hearing aids."

When kids get a hold batteries, they may think it's candy. A good barometer to measure battery size with is a paper towel roll. Any battery smaller than the cylindrical opening is a risk, McBurney said.

"It makes an alkaline fluid that burns the inner lining of the esophagus which is the food tube, or the stomach," Goode said.

And once it gets into the stomach, it could be life threatening. Doctor Goode said make sure you get medical help right away.