Foreign body ingestion and precautions during imaging (Button battery case)

Foreign body ingestion is a common problem seen in toddlers and in some the habit may go up to a little long. The most commonly ingested foreign bodies are: coins, magnets, batteries, small toys, jewelry, buttons and bones. Prompt identification and localization of ingested foreign bodies is essential in determining the appropriate treatment, as several types of commonly ingested foreign bodies require urgent removal and others can be managed conservatively. The most common age group includes toddlers and young children. But many a time they present with atypical history. The history may be from sibling who has not witnessed exactly or from the child himself who in turn due to fear might have told some other material as the offending item expecting to escape from parent's scolding! It is essential that every clinician should rule out all possibilities in such case scenarios especially by doing imaging of the commonly impacted areas.