Millions of Brits admit they leave batteries lying around – with nearly a quarter catching a child playing with a loose one in their home. Despite the danger, more than two-thirds of the 2,000 adults polled would be unsure what to do if they came across a child swallowing a battery.
Ingestion of the coin-shaped cells could lead to life threatening chemical reactions in as little as two hours – with energy from the battery reacting with saliva to create caustic soda which, in turn, burns into tissue, causing internal bleeding. More than half (53 per cent) admit they casually leave batteries around the house, rather than stored out of sight.
But 42 per cent think they need to make more effort to securely stow things like batteries in their home. The research was commissioned by Duracell, as part of its #Take10 campaign, to encourage parents to take 10 minutes to check any button batteries in their homes are safely stored out of reach of children, and all devices have battery compartments securely closed.
