Button batteries, plastic toys and coins: how to treat children who ingest foreign bodies

More children and teenagers are attending emergency departments due to ingested foreign bodies

• Most cases of stuck or ingested foreign bodies in children are fairly minor but some cause critical emergencies
• A growing number of teenagers and young adults swallow items as a form of self-harm
• Keep in mind the possibility of objects being swallowed when treating a child with sudden and acute abdominal pain

Picking up a small toy or coin and swallowing it – or poking it up their nose or into their ear – is a common reason for many small children ending up in a hospital emergency department (ED).

While most cases of stuck or