Trampolines, Swimming Pools Make List of Things ER Doctors Don’t Want In Their Homes

According to a new survey, emergency room doctors indicate that trampolines and swimming pools are among the top eight every day items and household products they would ban from their own homes, due to the potential health risks. 

The magazine Health released a new report called “8 Things ER Doctors Refuse to Have in Their Homes,” which identifies the most dangerous everyday items that cause emergency room visits.

Interviews found a wide variety of products, ranging from trampolines to button batteries, which the E.R. physicians indicate cause far too many injuries to justify their use.

The most common household product that emergency room physicians reportedly stated they would not allow at their home is a backyard trampoline. The doctors in the survey highlighted the risk of injury, particularly broken bones and concussions, to children who play on trampolines.

That opinion has been shared by pediatricians and other health experts who have published a number of studies and issued warnings regarding trampoline injury risks.

In May 2014, a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics examined data from more than one million emergency room (ER) visits across the country involving trampoline accidents or injuries, revealing that nearly 30% involved bone fractures, at a cost of more than $400 million.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has indicated that trampolines are no safer with pads, nets or other protection, despite efforts by manufacturers to include these features with purchases of trampolines in recent years. Many broken bones and other injuries continue to result from standard jumping and falling on the mat of the trampolines, experts have warned.

Emergency room doctors also list swimming pools as one of the top three most dangerous items that physicians would rather not have at their house. Physicians interviewed in the report echoed concerns by federal safety regulators, which have noted that swimming pools pose an increased hazard for children, because they see slip and falls resulting in broken bones and cracks skulls from slippery surfaces surrounding the pools, as well as drowning deaths. Drowning often occurs so fast and silently that some doctors said they would never have them in their homes.

Again, the fears of the emergency room doctors appear to be backed up by previous studies and concerns from other health experts and federal regulators.

In addition to drowning and slip hazards at pools, reports from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned parents and pool owners about over-chemicalizing pools with too much chlorine or adding the chemicals right before users enter the water.

Between 3,151 and 5,216 people are treated in hospital emergency departments during the summer seasons for injuries associated with pool chemical exposure, with the most frequent diagnosis being poisoning. About 92% of the injuries reported by federal health officials stemmed from inhalation of vapors, fumes, and gases rather than actual ingestion.

The other household hazards emergency room physicians shied away from included button batteries, power washers and extension ladders, guns, microwavable Styrofoam container soups, expired pain pills, and high chairs that pull up to the table.