In 2009, there were an estimated 90,300 home and community-related unintentional injury deaths, accounting for 70 percent of all unintentional injury deaths that year. An additional 30.5 million people suffered nonfatal medically consulted injuries due to home and community-related incidents, which correlates to about one out of every 10 people.
Families need to be aware of the dangers related to homes and recreation and take the proper safety precautions to prevent unintentional injuries and deaths.
Drowning in homes resulted in 1,100 deaths in 2009—a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Keep adults and children safe in swimming pools and bathtubs by learning about water safety and the necessary precautions your family should take.
Falls account for 8.9 million annual trips to emergency rooms in the United States and are especially dangerous for older adults. Learn how to prevent slips, trips and falls in your home and how to protect the older adults in your life from this easily preventable danger.
Poisoning is responsible for more than half of all home-related unintentional injury deaths and includes deaths from drugs, medicines, other sold and liquid substances and gases and vapors. Young children are especially at risk for poisoning related eating or swallowing over-the-counter and prescription medicines found in the home. Carbon Monoxide, radon and lead poisoning are several of the leading causes of environmental exposures that are extremely dangerous to your family’s health.
The most common causes of burns are from scalds (steam, hot bath water, hot drinks and foods), fire, chemicals, electricity and overexposure to the sun. Some burns may be more serious than others, but many are treatable.
Choking and suffocation is the fourth leading cause of home and community death in the United States, and children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to choking hazards. Foods are responsible for most choking incidents and can cause a simple coughing fit or something more serious like a complete block in the airway, which can lead to death.
Every room in your home presents different hazards that can easily be fixed, whether it’s learning about knife and kitchen safety or preventing slips, trips and falls in the bathroom. Learn how to make your entire home safer, including your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and the outside.
Although deaths and injuries from residential fires have decreased in the past several years, deaths from fires and burns are still the third leading cause of fatal home injuries. Seventy percent of these deaths are from inhaling smoke. Learn about fire hazards and prevention and what to do if a fire occurs in your home.
Unintentional overdoses include deaths from prescription narcotics, illegal drugs and alcohol. Recently, emergency room visits for nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs have caught up with those for illegal drugs, each accounting for 1 million emergency room visits in 2008.
Sports and exercise are good for you but often result in unintentional injury from accidents, poor training practices and improper gear. Sports-related traumatic brain injuries also have been on the rise and can range from “mild” (a brief change in mental status or consciousness) or “severe” (an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury).