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Medical Author:

Kenneth I Steinberg, DO

Coauthor:

Beth A Longenecker, DO

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Battery ingestion may not be obvious or symptomatic until harmful conditions develop. Thus, medical history and X-ray findings become exceedingly important for diagnosis.

The person who has swallowed a disk battery may have one or more symptoms.

• Vomiting
• Retching (gagging)
• Abdominal pain
• Low-grade fever
• Irritability
• Persistent drooling
• Difficulty breathing if the battery is blocking the airway
• Rash from nickel metal allergy
• Dark or bloody stools

Although mercury-containing cells tend to fragment, no clinical cases of mercury poisoning have been reported. Signs of mercury poisoning are lethargy, excitement, rash in the diaper region, or tremors.

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