Honey After Swallowing Button Batteries

National Capital Poison Center advises that ingested button batteries are on the uptick despite all the warnings. Unfortunately, parents of small children seldom see these incidents happening. They have to assume an emergency situation in the presence of spontaneous coughing, choking, or gagging without eating or drinking. National Capital Poison Center recommends taking honey after swallowing button batteries, because this temporarily insulates them.

Taking Honey After Swallowing Button Batteries Helps

This advice definitely appears genuine, according to joint research by Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) and their associates. The team already knew ingested button battery terminals can short-circuit through human flesh, and cause life-threatening internal burns. Taking honey after swallowing button batteries insulates the terminals, they say.

This situation calls for a critical visit to the emergency room, but getting there may take time. Therefore the team searched for a way to temporarily insulate the battery in situ, inside an affected child’s body. Several thousand U.S. children are harmed this way every year.

The team set themselves the goal of identifying a palatable, more sticky liquid. One that could create a protective barrier between human tissue and the battery, as well as neutralize harsh alkaline levels. After exploring a variety of options they concluded giving honey at regular intervals might be the best option, but only in the absence of a known allergy to honey.