Replies to a Reddit question for medical professionals cited hazards such as children swallowing button batteries, falls on stairs or around pets, escalators and powerful water currents. The roundup presents commenters’ accounts, not research findings.
One commenter said a coin battery stuck in the esophagus can react with saliva and generate a caustic substance that damages tissue if it is not removed quickly. Another, who said they had rotated in orthopedic trauma surgery, said at least half the broken hips they operated on involved elderly people who had tripped over dogs.
Other replies warned that combining binge drinking with prescription drugs can lead to accidental overdoses, and said loose objects on a car dashboard can become projectiles in a crash. A former paramedic also described long hair wrapping around a baby’s toe and cutting off circulation.
