Button Batteries and Magnets: Swallowing Hazards Parents Should Know and What to Do

Quick answer: if you think your child swallowed a button battery or more than one magnet, treat it as an emergency and go to the emergency room right away; do not wait for symptoms. A swallowed button battery can burn through the throat in as little as two hours, and swallowed magnets can pull together through the intestines. Do not make your child vomit. Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 on the way for advice, and if your child is over 1 year old and the battery was swallowed within 12 hours, poison experts advise giving honey on the way to the hospital.

Button batteries and small, powerful magnets look harmless. They are tiny, shiny and often hidden inside everyday objects such as remote controls, key fobs, toys and greeting cards. When a child swallows one, though, the damage can begin within hours, often before any symptoms appear.

This guide explains why these two hazards are different from other swallowed objects, where they hide around the house, what to do the moment you suspect your child swallowed one and how to store and dispose of them safely. It is part of the Living Life as Moms family health and safety guide.

This article is general safety information, not medical advice. If you suspect a child swallowed a button battery or magnets, go to the emergency room immediately and call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. Call 911 if your child is having trouble breathing. Sources: National Capital Poison Center (Poison.org) button battery guidance; America’s Poison Centers; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Reese’s Law, magnets and water beads warnings); American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org; American Red Cross choking first aid. Checked October 2026.

Why Button Batteries Are So Dangerous

Button batteries are dangerous because, once stuck in a child’s throat, they react with saliva and create an electrical current that produces a caustic chemical, burning through tissue. The National Capital Poison Center warns that serious burns can happen in as little as two hours.

A few points make them especially risky:

• Lithium coin batteries are the biggest threat. Larger coin cells, about the size of a nickel (20 millimeters, such as the common CR2032), are the right size to lodge in a young child’s esophagus.
• Even “dead” batteries can cause injury. A battery that no longer powers a device may still hold enough charge to burn.
• Symptoms can be absent at first. A child may seem fine while the battery is causing damage.
• Injuries can be lasting. Burns can lead to holes in the esophagus, damage to the airway or major blood vessels, and long-term feeding and breathing problems.

Batteries placed in the nose or ears can also cause burns and need prompt medical care.

Why Swallowed Magnets Are an Emergency

Swallowing one small magnet may pass without harm, but swallowing two or more, or a magnet plus a metal object, is an emergency. The CPSC explains that high-powered magnets, often made from rare-earth metals such as neodymium, can attract each other through the walls of the stomach or intestines, pinching the tissue between them.

That pinching can cause:

• Holes (perforations) in the intestines
• Blockages
• Infection that spreads through the abdomen
• The need for surgery to remove the magnets and repair damage

Magnets are found in building sets, desk toys, magnetic jewelry and some kitchen items. Older children and teens have been injured using small magnets to imitate tongue or lip piercings and then accidentally swallowing them, a pattern the CPSC has warned about.

Where Button Batteries and Magnets Hide at Home

Button batteries and magnets are inside many ordinary household items, so the first step is knowing where to look. Walk through your home and check anything small that lights up, makes sound or sticks.

Common Button Battery Sources

• TV and streaming remotes
• Car key fobs and garage door openers
• Bathroom scales and kitchen scales
• Digital thermometers
• Watches, calculators and fitness trackers
• Hearing aids
• Flameless candles and holiday decorations
• Musical greeting cards and books
• Light-up shoes, toys and costumes
• Small item trackers

Light-up costumes and accessories are especially common around Halloween. Our Halloween safety tips for kids cover choosing costume gear, and it is worth checking battery compartments on anything that glows.

Common Magnet Sources

• Magnetic building tiles and toy sets (pieces can break and release magnets)
• Desk toys made of small magnetic balls or cubes
• Fake magnetic piercings and jewelry
• Refrigerator magnets with small, detachable magnets
• Some board games and puzzles

Signs a Child May Have Swallowed a Battery or Magnet

There may be no signs at all, which is why a suspected swallow alone is reason enough to go to the emergency room. When symptoms do appear, America’s Poison Centers and the AAP list:

• Drooling or trouble swallowing
• Gagging, vomiting or refusing to eat or drink
• Coughing, wheezing or noisy breathing
• Chest pain or pointing to the throat or chest
• Blood in saliva or vomit
• Belly pain, fever or a swollen belly (more common with magnets)
• Unusual fussiness in a baby or toddler

Missing batteries from a remote, an open battery compartment or a magnet set with fewer pieces than before are also important clues.

What to Do Right Away

If you think your child swallowed a button battery or magnets, go to the nearest emergency room immediately. X-rays can show where the object is, and doctors may need to remove it quickly.

Step by step:

1. Go to the emergency room now. Do not wait to see if symptoms develop.
2. Call 911 if your child has trouble breathing, is drooling heavily or cannot swallow.
3. Do not make your child vomit, and do not give food or drinks other than honey as described below.
4. Bring the packaging or device, or a matching battery, so doctors can identify the type and size.
5. Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 on the way for expert advice.

The Honey Guidance for Button Batteries

The National Capital Poison Center advises that, for children over 1 year old who swallowed a button battery within the past 12 hours and can swallow, parents can give 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of honey every 10 minutes, up to six doses, on the way to the emergency room. Honey coats the battery and can slow the burning reaction. Do not give honey to babies under 1, to a child with a known honey allergy, or if it would delay getting to the hospital. Doctors at the hospital may use a different coating solution.

Choking Is Different

If a child is choking and cannot breathe, cough or cry, begin choking first aid immediately and call 911. The American Red Cross teaches back blows and chest thrusts for infants under 1 and abdominal thrusts for older children. A swallowed battery or magnet that has gone down may not cause choking, but it still requires emergency care.

What Happens at the Hospital

At the emergency room, doctors usually start with an X-ray to find the object and tell a button battery apart from a coin, since the two can look similar to parents. A battery stuck in the esophagus is typically removed as quickly as possible with an endoscope, a thin tube with a camera, while the child is sedated.

Depending on how long the battery was in place, doctors may keep the child for observation, order follow-up imaging or recommend a soft diet for a while, because some injuries become clearer days later. Swallowed magnets may be watched with repeated X-rays if they are in the stomach and not attached to each other, or removed if more than one is present.

Ask the care team what warning signs to watch for at home after discharge, such as fever, vomiting, chest or belly pain or blood in vomit or stool, and when to come back.

How Laws Have Changed: Reese's Law

Reese’s Law, signed in August 2022, was named after Reese Hamsmith, a toddler who died after swallowing a button battery from a remote control. It led to a CPSC safety standard that took effect in 2024 for products sold in the United States.

Under the rule:

• Battery compartments must be secured, typically with a screw or a mechanism requiring two separate actions to open.
• Products must carry warning labels about the swallowing hazard.
• Button and coin batteries must be sold in child-resistant packaging.

These rules help, but older products, hand-me-down toys, imported items and products bought before the rule may not comply. Keep checking compartments on anything already in your home.

Safe Storage and Disposal

Safe storage keeps loose batteries and magnets completely out of children’s reach, and safe disposal makes sure used ones never end up in a trash can a toddler can open.

Storage

• Keep spare batteries locked up with medicines, high and out of sight, in their original child-resistant packaging.
• Tape battery compartments shut on devices that do not have a screw closure.
• Check purses, nightstands and junk drawers, where loose batteries often collect.
• Change batteries out of children’s sight, so they do not learn how compartments open.
• Store magnet sets away from young children and count pieces after play if older kids use them.

Disposal

Poison.org recommends putting clear tape over both sides of a used battery, then storing it out of reach until you can recycle it. Many hardware stores and local recycling programs accept button batteries. Do not throw loose batteries into an open kitchen trash can.

Smoke alarms are a common time to handle batteries. Our home fire safety checklist for families covers testing and replacing alarms; many newer alarms have sealed 10-year batteries, which avoids loose batteries altogether.

Related Swallowing Hazards: Water Beads and Small Parts

Button batteries and magnets are not the only small objects that can cause serious internal injuries. The CPSC has also warned about water beads, small gel balls that can expand many times their size after being swallowed and block a child’s intestines. The CPSC has urged parents to keep water beads out of homes with young children.

Other hazards to keep away from children under 3:

• Small toy parts, coins and marbles. The CPSC requires warning labels on toys with small parts intended for ages 3 to 6.
• Balloons, especially uninflated or broken pieces.
• Hair ties, bottle caps and small jewelry.

A simple rule of thumb: anything that fits through a toilet paper tube is small enough for a young child to choke on.

Traveling and Visiting Other Homes

Battery and magnet risks follow children wherever they go. Hotel rooms, grandparents’ homes and friends’ houses may have remotes with loose covers, hearing aid batteries on a nightstand or magnet toys left on a table.

When traveling or visiting:

• Do a quick sweep of the room for remotes, scales and small electronics at child level.
• Tape loose battery covers with packing tape.
• Ask grandparents to store hearing aid batteries and medicines high and locked while kids visit.
• Pack your own spare batteries in a locked or zipped bag.

For more ideas on keeping trips smooth, see these tips on traveling with kids.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my child swallowed a button battery? Go to the emergency room immediately, even if your child seems fine. Do not make them vomit. Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 on the way. If your child is over 1 year old and it happened within 12 hours, poison experts advise giving 2 teaspoons of honey every 10 minutes, up to six doses, while traveling to the hospital.

How fast can a button battery cause damage? The National Capital Poison Center warns that a button battery stuck in the esophagus can cause serious burns in as little as two hours.

Is swallowing one magnet dangerous? A single small magnet may pass, but swallowing two or more magnets, or a magnet and a metal object, can cause the pieces to attract through the intestinal walls and cause serious injury. Seek medical care right away for any suspected magnet swallow.

What are the symptoms of a swallowed battery? There may be none at first. Possible symptoms include drooling, gagging, vomiting, trouble swallowing, chest pain, coughing, refusing food and blood in saliva.

What is Reese's Law? Reese's Law is a 2022 federal law that led to a CPSC safety standard requiring secure battery compartments, warning labels and child-resistant packaging for products containing button or coin batteries.

How should I throw away button batteries? Put clear tape over both sides, store them out of children's reach and take them to a battery recycling drop-off. Do not toss loose batteries in an open trash can.

The Bottom Line

Button batteries and high-powered magnets are among the most serious swallowing hazards for children, because damage can start within hours and before symptoms appear. Know where they hide, keep compartments secured and spares locked away, tape and recycle used batteries, and treat any suspected swallow as an emergency. Go straight to the emergency room, call Poison Help on the way and, for button batteries in children over 1, use honey as poison experts advise.