can a battery up your anus kill you

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Request for Question Clarification by blader-ga on 12 Aug 2002 02:13 PDT

Approximately what size is this battery? Hypothetically speaking.

Best Regards,
blader-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by blazius-ga on 12 Aug 2002 02:50 PDT

There are a lot of batteries that could be easily inserted into a
person's anus, and there are several possible risks associated with
this:

1: The battery could short circuit and explode
2: The battery can contain harardous substances (mercury, cadmium, and
others) that could leak out and be absorbed through the colon wall
3: The battery could leak acids that could cause severe burns
4: The battery could give electric shocks.

To enable a researcher to answer your question, you should clarify
what kind of battery you are asking about: Ordinary household
batteries (found in flashlights and radios), button-size batteries
(found in watches, calculators etc.) or some kind of speciality use
battery (high-voltage batteries used by some kinds of communications
equipment)?

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Request for Question Clarification by expertlaw-ga on 12 Aug 2002 03:19 PDT

If this relates to a real person, you may wish to contact your local
poison control center.

For the United States, you can find a directory of poison control
centers at:
http://www.aapcc.org/findyour.htm

For Canada, you can find a listing of poison control centers at:
http://www.laters.com/poiscntr.htm

Hello 

I hope that your question is hypothetical.  The answer is yes, without
medical intervention a battery up your anus can kill.  Here are some
medical references that explain why medical intervention can be needed
to save a life in circumstances like this.

Here is an english summary of a Hungarian report titled "Foreign
bodies in the rectum at our department during the last ten years":
"During the past 10 years the authors have treated 17 patients on
their department because of got stuck or injury-causing rectal foreign
bodies. In 12 cases swallowed, in 3 cases "per anum"-placed up foreign
bodies were observed, in 2 cases penetrating anorectal injury caused
by the foreign body. In 9 cases after successful Recamier-dilatation
the foreign bodies were removed per anum in 5 cases they were removed
in short time narcosis by rectoscope. At 2 patients they had to
compose colostoma. All their patients recovered. They stress the
importance of the removing of the foreign bodies as soon as possible."
 Magyar Sebeszet. 53(4):180-2, 2000 Aug.
 [found via Medline; sorry I do not have an internet reference for
this]

Please note the last sentence quoted above.  Without the surgery at
least some of the patients would have died.

Here'a another report:
"We describe the case of a of 53-year-old homosexual male, from whom a
cigar container (22 cm in length and 3.5 cm in diameter), which was
introduced into the rectum and migrated upwards to the distal colon,
was successfully extracted by combining laparoscopic and anal
approaches. METHODS: The foreign body was mobilized laparoscopically,
pushed down the rectum, and then extracted transanally with the aid of
a dilator anoscope. CONCLUSIONS: Combining the laparoscopic and anal
approaches in selected cases of colorectal foreign bodies is useful."
 Removal of a foreign body from the distal colon using a combined
laparoscopic and endoanal approach: report of a case.
 Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. 43(11):1632-4, 2000 Nov.
 [found via Medline]

The lesson here is that an object can travel the "wrong way" and  it
does worse damage as it travels.  This is certainly true of the
battery that you mentioned-- no matter how small it is, it can kill if
left untreated!

Finally, a report translated from Russian:
"In 107 patients the foreign body was removed without surgery, 5
patients required laparotomy. When possible it was removed by fingers
and also with use of forceps. When small foreign bodies could not be
reached by finger, they were removed through rectoscope. Foreign
bodies of big sizes, proximal end of which was in the sigmoid colon,
were removed under anasthesia with the help of the assistant who fixed
the foreign body through the abdominal wall in the left ileac region.
In impossibility of the subject removal by these methods and presence
of complications (perforation, peritonitis), laparotomy with
subsequent transanal subject removal without colon section was
performed, in case of perforation--with wound suturing or colostomy."
 Treatment of patients with foreign bodies in rectum
 Khirurgiia. (7):41-3, 2000.
 [found via Medline]

There are dozens more scientific reports like these, but I think I've
quoted enough to answer your question.

Sincerely,
richard-ga

Search terms used on Medline:
rectum and foreign object

If there has been an accident with a battery the one who had the
accident should AT ONCE go and see a doctor This could be very
dangerous.

till-ga