Important Safety Warning:
Button Batteries in Sharp Calculators
Button batteries are commonly found in some Sharp calculator models and are a real danger if ingested, so it’s important that you keep all devices containing button batteries out of reach of children. This risk with button batteries is bad because you may not know anything is wrong at first. Children may swallow one and continue to breathe and act normally.
As well as being a choking hazard, if a button battery is swallowed or inserted into ears or nose, it can get stuck and start causing significant irreversible damage in as little as 2 hours. It is crucial to take immediate action, it should be treated as a medical emergency.
Why It's Dangerous
Button batteries are the small, round batteries that power products like hearing aids, watches, toys, games, calculators, musical greeting cards or remote controls and can cause catastrophic internal damage, even if they are old or spent. When swallowed, they can cause chemical burns, bleeding, and other severe injuries in a very short time. This is why it is critical to act quickly.
What to Do If you believe your child has ingested a button battery:
- Call 111 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department immediately.
- Call the New Zealand National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in New Zealand.
