ESOPHAGEAL BURN CAUSED BY SUCKING A 1.5 VOLT BATTERY

We report the case of a 4-year-old boy who sustained an oesophageal bu rn grade II-III due to ingestion of an alkaline substance from a leaki ng cylindric 3.3 cm diameter battery, by putting the battery to his mo uth and sucking the caustic solution. Lye ingestion by sucking a big c ylindric alkaline battery has not yet been reported in the medical lit erature. We recommend the production of safer alkaline battery cover t ubes in order to eliminate any possibility of leakage. Accidents like this might occur more often, since battery collecting and recycling is becoming more common.