As you head out to buy gifts for your kids this Christmas, an emergency room doctor is reminding you to be careful about what you buy. Doctor Lydia Holm works in Des Moines and says parents sometimes buy toys that are not appropriate for young kids because of small pieces that can be swallowed. Holm says some of the whiz bang toys your kid likes might have a hidden danger. She says almost all toys now are battery operated and you need to be very careful with the batteries. She says be especially careful of disc batteries because they’re very small and can be swallowed or put in their nose or ear. Holm says she had one child that put a battery in her nose and it leaked acid and caused a sinus infection, while another put one in their throat and it erroded his throat and the child had to have a feeding tube for awhile. Holm says you should be sure the battery-operated toys have the proper safety features. She says a lot of the battery-operated toys have screws to hold the covers in place, and she says you should be sure the screws stay in place so the kids can’t get at the batteries. Holm says if you have kids of different ages, you should be sure their toys don’t mix. She says older kids think it’s fun to put their toys in little kid’s mouths. She says you should check out the older kids toys and make sure they’re okay if the little kids can get ahold of them. She says you should also check out the toys that other people give your child to be sure that those toys are safe. Holm says most injuries caused by toys are not very serious, but she says you can ensure there aren’t any problems at all by keeping an eye on the toys your child uses.
