Frightening photos show what happens after a child swallows a button battery

A disturbing series of images have gone viral on Facebook, showing the damaging effects swallowing a button battery will have on a small child.

The pictures, which stem from the public emergency first aid Facebook page CPR Kids, display the horrific damage wrought upon the flesh of a chicken fillet after being contaminated with a lithium battery - showing how dangerous they can be if an infant ingests one.

A paediatric nurse placed a battery inside a chicken fillet and monitored the damage closely. After only four hours, she examined the meat and discovered that the battery acid contained within the button had already leaked out and corroded much of the tissue, covering it in black ichor.

Commenting on her experiment in a recent interview, CPR Kids founder Sarah Hunstead told Kidspot: "I was inspired to do this particular experiment after a trip to the supermarket with my oldest daughter. We were walking down the baby products aisle - she stopped and picked up a small object off the shelf where the baby toys were - my daughter said ‘Mum Look! A button battery! That is so dangerous!"

Sarah added:

"Looking around I saw an opened packet on the shelf that obviously a shopper had left there - did they not understand how incredibly dangerous these items are? I decided that we needed to show what damage these batteries can do, so I put some chicken fillets in my trolley and my daughters and I did the time-lapse photos that afternoon."

She continued: "Even though I have seen first hand the damage that a button battery can do, I was still shocked at the immediacy of the burns ... In my career as a paediatric emergency nurse, I have cared for children who had swallowed or choked on button batteries. A few were lucky because it was witnessed by a parent and they knew to seek immediate emergency help, however, most ended up with horrific injuries, sometimes requiring years of ongoing treatment if they survived."

For more advice on how you can help your little one avoid a nasty accident, please visit Kids Health for help and more information.