Is it possible to suffer a AA battery-related injury?
So I was just operating my…Game Boy (best used late at night in bed), and now my pinky is injured. There wasn’t a moment of sharp pain when the incident happened, but suddenly my pinky started really hurting. I waited until…the game was over to check, and the pain got really bad. When I checked, my pinky was intact but swollen and warm. When I squeeze it it stings, like a burn.
The weirdest part was that one battery was making a loud noise, and continued to make it for several minutes after being removed from the Game Boy. I was in the habit of storing this particular battery in the Game Boy with the other two but backwards, so my Game Boy couldn’t accidentally turn on deep in my dresser drawer. Thus, the coil was pressed against the wrong end for a long time.
Reckon some battery acid leaked and burned my poor pinky?
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lol, its possible yes.
Has the skin blistered yet? If not it may be RSI from playing too much
or early onset arthritis.
Nope, not yet, but it’s super red. It feels most like a wasp sting or something.
I don’t “play game boy” THAT much
In addition: something definitely dripped onto my sheets. Something unfamiliar, that is. Might be greenish.
@sliceswiththings You always want to hear how something greenish dripped onto the sheets after playing game boy
Does this particular game boy come with anything besides hard plastic in it? Perhaps the casing ruptured?
Run it under a stream of water for about 30 minutes. Then wrap it in something clean. Then go to the doctor or Urgent Care in the morning. They have lotions and creams that will help. And toss your sheets, you should never use them again. And I would flip your mattress.
I just want to say: Best. Question. Ever. All of our questions should involve Game Boys.
Haha thanks, @papayalily. Not sure if people get that I wasn’t actually playing game boy, which actually makes it a funny story
And I’m pretty sure it was the battery, cause of the sound. The other batteries were fine.
@sliceswiththings But the ellipses and the sheets and the tags and the part about bedtime… I know playing Game Boy is part of my nightly routine, too. RSI is a very real concern for some of us.
Well, then, yeah, that sounds like that’s it. Do what @world_hello said, except see if your family doctor has an opening tomorrow morning before going to Urgent Care. Much cheaper that way.
Do I really have to go to the doctor? Can I just put some cream on it in the morning? I just washed the hell out of my hands.
Also, can you think of something else (besides game boy) that I could have been doing that requires batteries? I’m living with my folks at the moment and if this is a real injury/there are holes in my sheets by the morning I’ll have some ‘splainin to do
@sliceswiththings Do you have a tv? A tv that has a remote?
OR, just do as I did: Throw the sheets out and secretly buy some new one for yourself, in the exact same brand/color/model.
Not anywhere near my sheets :(. Maybe I’ll go find the old game boy…
Haha I always set my alarm deep under my covers!
rofl.
sore hands /stains on sheets . You got some explaining to do.
Sue nintendo for the sheets , the injuries and the oncoming psychological damage caused to all.
I don’t think the doctor is 100% necessary. But they can give you a prescription for stuff that will help with the pain. In the end you will be OK. It just depends on how much pain you want to endure.
If you have sore fingers and leaking batteries in your bed, your parents will probably be relieved that it was only a Game Boy.
Make sure you throw away those batteries and dont put them in the wrong way round again. Better just to take one out completely. Also creams and stuff on burns (which is what you have, if you got battery acid on your finger) is not reccommended. If it seems to get infected or if it’s very painful go to your doctor, but otherwise it won’t be necessary to put anything else on it.
You should just be happy that your finger was the only thing that got burned! OUCH!
@Seelix Right?! I kept waiting for the stinging to start…elsewhere. That would have been horrible.
I told my dad about the malfunctioning battery in my little alarm clock (best I could do) and he thought that AA batteries don’t actually have acid like car batteries do, but rather have some sort of conductive lubricant. Anyone know anything?
Conductive lubricant? Could he have phrased it more awesomely?
Well, there’s definitely something in AA batteries, whether it’s acid or not. Have you ever left a battery sitting unused in a remote or something and had it leak gunk out of it? There’s something in there.
Many modern batteries are alkaline. They use Potassium Hydroxide, which is the opposite of acid, but they can cause the same sort of damage. Anything with a pH value too far away from 7.0 can cause chemical burns, whether it is an acid (pH below 7.0) or alkaline (pH above 7.0)
Where I work, we have an alkaline solution (one that is far stronger than that in a battery) that will eat just about anything except steel. Since people are not made of steel, the stuff is a bit dangerous to work with in much the same way that pure, undiluted Sulfuric Acid is.
Fortunately for you, Potassium Hydroxide is far less corrosive. It may cause a little redness and irritation, but it won’t really eat the skin, and unlike the stuff I work with, it definitely won’t eat the muscle underneath and then take out your bone.
Of course, you should also be thankful that it was only your finger that got burnt. Even the slightest such irritation to other areas may be… irritating, to say the least.
Wow, I’m just laughing so hard over this thread, I don’t know what to say! I agree – Best. Question. Ever. “Might be greenish” liquid on the sheets? Wow, that sounds serious. Don’t ever do that again. <snicker>
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