TikToker explains what swallowing a battery can do to body tissue

Dr Anthony Youn, who goes by @tonyyounmd on TikTok, shared a video illustrating the kind of damage swallowing a battery can cause. 

READ: Doctors swallow Lego to see what it does to a child's body

Dr Anthony Youn constantly shares interesting and informative content on his page. In this video, he highlights exactly what happens to the tissue in the human body when you ingest a battery.

In the video, Dr Youn places a tiny battery coin on a slice of ham and then pours water over it. The doctor then explains that the ham is supposed to represent the oesophagus while the water represents saliva.

After two hours on the sliced ham, Dr Youn removed the battery and showcased the grim effects the power unit had on the ham. He left the ham for another hour and the battery acid had almost burnt a hole through the ham. 

“I know I joke a lot here, but this isn’t a joke. Make sure to keep batteries away from children and pets. Can be so dangerous!” Dr Youn said on the platform.

The Center for Disease Control says that button batteries are the most harmful to young children and that about 3,500 batteries are swallowed every year. The centre explains that when the battery gets stuck in the throat, it causes an electric current that can leak toxic chemicals such as an alkaline electrolyte. They add that this can lead to internal damage that can cause burns within hours. Even if the battery is removed from the body, the damage can sometimes be irreversible.

Watch the video below. 

Image Credit: TikTok