How would I even know if they swallowed one?

Sometimes there's no clear sign at all, which is part of what makes this dangerous — if you have any reason to suspect it (a battery compartment found open, a battery missing from a device), treat it as a real possibility and call the hotline.

What if I'm not sure it was a battery?

Call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline or Poison Control anyway and describe what you know. They're used to working with uncertainty and can help you figure out next steps.

Is it different if it's stuck in the nose or ear instead of swallowed?

It's still urgent and still needs the same hotline and prompt medical attention — a battery lodged in the nose or ear can also cause tissue damage, just in a different location.

When it happens · 4 min read

Swallowed a button battery: why this one's different

If you know — or even suspect — your child swallowed a button battery, this is the one swallowed-object situation where you don't watch and wait. Here's why it's different, and what to actually do in the next few minutes.

Last updated August 9, 2026

Why button batteries are different from anything else your kid could swallow

This isn't primarily a choking risk. A button battery reacts with saliva and tissue to generate an electrical current, which can cause a chemical burn severe enough to damage the esophagus in as little as two hours. That timeline is why this gets treated completely differently from a swallowed coin or toy piece.

What to do right now

Call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (1-800-498-8666) or Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) — but do it on the way to the ER, not instead of leaving. Do not induce vomiting.

If honey is available, your child is over 12 months old, and they can swallow safely, small amounts of honey given every 10 minutes en route may help coat and protect the area until the battery is removed. Never give honey to a baby under 12 months — it carries a real risk of infant botulism at that age, unrelated to the battery itself. And never delay leaving for the ER in order to find honey.

The ER will need an X-ray to locate the battery and remove it — this isn't something that gets managed by waiting to see if it passes.

Where they hide

Remote controls, key fobs, singing greeting cards, hearing aids, small watches, bathroom scales, and small toys are common sources. Anything with a small, flat, coin-shaped battery compartment is worth checking is secured, especially with a screw rather than a slide cover a toddler can pop open.

Common questions

How would I even know if they swallowed one?: Sometimes there's no clear sign at all, which is part of what makes this dangerous — if you have any reason to suspect it (a battery compartment found open, a battery missing from a device), treat it as a real possibility and call the hotline.
What if I'm not sure it was a battery?: Call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline or Poison Control anyway and describe what you know. They're used to working with uncertainty and can help you figure out next steps.
Is it different if it's stuck in the nose or ear instead of swallowed?: It's still urgent and still needs the same hotline and prompt medical attention — a battery lodged in the nose or ear can also cause tissue damage, just in a different location.

If it's this, not that

Still not sure

This page is the general answer. Yours is a specific child.

The advisor can be. It has read everything here, and it knows how old your children actually are — which is the whole difference wherever guidance changes with age. Ask it anything.

She's got a temperature of 100. Is that something to worry about?
He's obsessed with space and galaxies — what toys are worth getting him?

Get the weekly note — and the advisor

Free. It comes with the note.

It answers from the same cited pages you are reading, and when the question is where to go, from the real clinician, hospital and childcare records behind this site — not a link to go search them yourself. It says so when we have not written about something, and it is not a doctor; for anything urgent it gives you the threshold and tells you to call.

Where this comes from

Swallowed a button battery? Battery in the nose or ear?America's Poison Centers
Button battery ingestion statisticsAmerica's Poison Centers

Every claim on this page traces to one of these. See every source we use →

Written from the sources named above, and it is not a substitute for your own doctor. If something feels wrong to you, that instinct is a good enough reason to call — you know yourself and this family better than any page does.