An increasing number of little children are eating small lithium batteries, also known as "button" batteries, that power many of our consumer devices, with potentially serious consequences, even death, a new report found.

Despite public information campaigns warning parents about the dangers, an estimated 7,032 visits were made to emergency rooms as a result of battery-related injuries from 2010 to 2019, more than twice the number of visits as 1990 to 2009, according to the study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

That's an average of one battery-related emergency visit every 1.25 hours among children under 18, the report found. Children under 5 were at the highest risk, the report noted, especially toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2, who often put things they find into their mouths.

Button batteries were responsible for the injuries in more than 87% of the visits in which battery type could be determined, the study said.... Read More: WBAL TV