Countering hysteria with facts

[ZeSpectre]

Help me out folks. I want a list of every commonplace but dangerous item you'd find in the average household and, if you can find it, the number of deaths per year associated with each item.

I'm trying to compile a list to put the "hazard of a firearm in the home" into perspective.

Automobiles
Bathtubs (drowning or slip/fall)
Curtains/cords/drape pulls (hangings)
Electricity
Firearms
Gasoline/fuels (poisioning/burns)
Lawn mowers
Plastic Bags (suffocation)
Power Tools
Prescription medicines
Stairs (slip/fall)
Stoves
Swimming pools (drowning or slip/fall)
Washing machines (drowning)

[Loosedhorse]

5-gallon white plastic buckets.

I think it's Gary Kleck who showed that more kids (I think it was children 4 and under) accidently drown in white plastic buckets each year than are killed by accidental gunfire.

Twice as many.

[Code3GT]

Its amazing how many accidental drownings we get called out to as opposed to accidental shootings. Austin had close to 20 drownings this year alone and 1 AD that I can recall

[ZeSpectre]

fantastic, this is precisely what I'm looking for.

[contenderman]

Pets

Physical abuse

Malnutrition

Toys

Lack of medical care

Almost forgot the numbers ... I don't have 'em. There are both govt. and pvt. data bases out there but I'm not computer literate enough to dig the data out.

[Librarian]

leading causes of deaths from WISQARS

[Gunsmom]

Very common things like rugs and pets cause slips and falls, particularly in the elderly. Toys also cause falls. Electrical cords; kids pull on them and pull hot irons, crock pots, and so forth off on themselves. Small children also can pull on tablecloths and pull hot food or liquids or sharp items such as knives off on themselves.

For that matter, furniture can be hazardous. Glass tops on tables can tip and/or break. People can fall into corners of tables and be injured, particularly the elderly and small children. Small children have died from pulling television sets off dressers or TV stands onto themselves.

Don't forget lead poisoning from paint in older homes, and as a hazard in some occupations.

Then there are food hazards. In children under four, popcorn, hard candy, and nuts are hazardous foods, as they frequently can't chew them properly (peanuts aspirated into the lungs can be particularly nasty). Older people who have difficulty swallowing may choke easily, but really anyone can choke to death trying to swallow too large a bolus of food. Then there are food allergies, some of which can be fatal.

Then you didn't mention things like wasps and bees, which are found around many homes, and which can be really dangerous to those who are allergic. Dust mites, while not fatal, cause a huge number of people untold misery through allergies; some of those people have asthma, worsened by the allergies. Cockroaches are also thought to be linked with a high incidence of asthma, too, and people do die from asthma. While not common, rodents in the home can lead to some unpleasant diseases, too, such as bubonic plague and hantavirus.

Toys, again, including bicycles, roller blades, skateboards.

Someone else mentioned physical abuse. Mom's boyfriend/husband would be a far bigger threat to a child's wellbeing than a firearm.

[Armueller2001]

How about doctors prescribing the wrong medicine, or medical malpractice? I read something about a doctor being many times more dangerous than a firearm.

Think about this:

a. The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.
b. Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year is 120,000.
c. Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)

Then think about this:

a. The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.
b. The number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) is 1,500.
c. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

[ZeSpectre]

Great stuff, and Librarian thanks for the link to WISQARS

[kcbnac]

ZeSpectre: I presume you'll share all this wonderful data you compile when finished, for whatever purpose you're gathering it?

Seems like a great set of data, maybe even something to send in to the GunFacts booklet?

[ShelleyB.]

Mold

Child deaths related to accidental ingestion of medication (not kept "secured") This doesn't cover deaths due to prescribed medication.

Check sites such as PubMed, SafeKids for some studies and statistical data.

[IllHunter]

Just to award points to Gunsmom for using the word

bolus

.
Ten Points!

[rondog]

I read a "statistic" many years ago about how many people are killed each year by toilets, of all things. Wish I knew where to find it.

[Claymore1500]

OFF topic, BUT.

I don't know about toilets killing anyone, but I do know that in my younger days I personally spent too many hours on Friday and Saturday nights hugging the toilet and WISHING I WAS DEAD.

sorry, when I read that I just couldn't resist.

[Nematocyst]

Toilet-related injuries and deaths (latter most of young children).

I'd probably also be tempted to add food poisoning to the list.

"Honey, how old is this leftover fish in the fridge? .... Honey? ...
Oh, well, looks good, and I'm hungry."

[learn2shoot]

It's also important to point out how many people have been killed by gun control throughout history.

[rondog]

OFF topic, BUT.

I don't know about toilets killing anyone, but I do know that in my younger days I personally spent too many hours on Friday and Saturday nights hugging the toilet and WISHING I WAS DEAD.

sorry, when I read that I just couldn't resist.

Har! Reminds me of the party where I did the same thing, then passed out on the floor between the toilet and the door. The ladies there were REALLY po'd at me 'cause they couldn't get in to the bathroom! Guess they'd been beating the door against me for hours!

God, that was 35 years ago.

Sorry, back to the topic please.

[PDXCarbine]

Know what I think is more dangerous then a firearm?

Ever see kids riding down the street on those little broke in half 2 wheel wobbly skate boards.

Everytime I pass one I wonder if this is the time his head falls under my truck wheels.

Why the heck would you use one of those things on a public road.