My 14-month-old toddler put a small shin

Answer

I'll act on this fast — a button battery in the esophagus can burn through tissue in under 2 hours. Let me pull the right cards now.

Go to the emergency room right now and call your local emergency services on the way — your toddler may have swallowed a button battery twenty minutes ago. A lithium button battery stuck in the gullet can burn through tissue in under two hours, and a small child can look completely fine while that damage is happening.

This is not medical advice and it does not replace a clinician; the team at the door will decide what is there. But the picture you described — a shiny round object from a kitchen scale that was lying open, swallowed by a 14-month-old who is currently well — matches the pattern that does not wait at home. So the answer to "can we wait for it to pass?" is no. Go now, and let imaging decide whether it is in the gullet (urgent removal) or already in the stomach (sometimes safe to watch, sometimes still needs retrieval). Waiting at home turns a fixable problem into a perforated gullet if the battery is lodged.

**While you travel or wait for the ambulance**

- Bring the kitchen scale, or at least a matching battery from the same pack, so the team can identify the size and chemistry. Lithium coin cells ≥ 20 mm (the typical scale battery) cause the worst injuries.
- Bring his health record / red book and a note of any allergies or medicines he is on.
- Note the time he swallowed it (about 20 minutes ago) and anything he has eaten or drunk since.
- Keep him upright and calm. Do not poke his throat or try to look down it.
- Do not give him anything to eat or drink until a clinician has seen him — food or fluid can get in the way of an emergency endoscopy.
- If he becomes drowsy, lay him on his side. If he starts drooling, refuses to swallow, gags, vomits, complains of pain, coughs, or develops noisy or fast breathing, say so to the team at the door.

**What definitely not to do**

- Do not wait at home to see if it "passes". You cannot tell at home whether it is in the oesophagus (dangerous) or already in the stomach. The X-ray is what decides.
- Do not make him vomit. A battery that comes back up can burn the gullet on the way out and again on the way down, and vomiting can cause it to be inhaled.
- Do not give him bread, a laxative, or anything "to help it along". Let the team decide after imaging.
- Do not treat "he looks fine, he's not choking" as proof it is safe. That is the most dangerous moment with an oesophageal button battery — the child looks well for the first hour or two while the burn is happening.
- Do not keep looking in his mouth to check. Prodding can move the battery and worsen the injury.

I cannot quote a national emergency number from memory — please tell me which country or city you are in and I will pull the right local emergency line and the nearest paediatric emergency department for you. If you are already in the car, drive to the nearest children's emergency department now and call them on the way to say you are coming.