Death In The Home

What is the likelihood of accidentally dying in my home?

"Home, Sweet Home" can be very dangerous. Over 2000 people each year die accidentally in their home during leisure activities. One of the reasons for this is that a lot of times they're not as "on guard" as on the streets and they don't take as much care against a number of things. Every 18 minutes a person dies accidentally in their home. So "Home, Sweet Home" is a sign that needs flashing neon to make you look at it a little bit more carefully and more clearly.

What are some of the common causes of death in the home?

One of the common causes of death in the home is the ingestion of poisons, liquids, household objects, paints. Over 5,000 people die a year from household liquid items that are just kept in unlocked cabinets accessible to anyone. Over 300,000 different fires occur in the home each year, causing over 19,000 deaths. So, frayed wires, electrical outlets, common things, cause 411 deaths a year. Slips and falls over throw rugs, small tables, down stairs--9,000 deaths. Home sweet home; you have to look around and make sure your home is not only sweet but safe.

How likely am I to be killed by a home appliance?

The odds have increased into our favour. And when the first appliance was made in the 1920's, the first one was the pop-up toaster. Over 3,000 people died in the first year that the pop-up toaster was invented and it was one of the first products that had a warning label put into every box. Nowadays, home appliances are a lot safer, but yet every year 50 people die from small table fans. Another 45 die from refrigerators. Another 21 die from other appliances like dishwashers and washing machines. Usually it has to do with electrical currents or electricity or electrocution in some way. Some of the accidental deaths caused by electrical appliances are from falling, improperly balanced and people are crushed by appliances, but TVs, small fans kill 50 every year.

Which appliance is the most dangerous?

The most dangerous household appliance from the last 100 years is definitely the pop up toaster. More people have died trying to fish out bread from the toaster even though they know they shouldn't do compared to any other appliance there is. It became one of the first products that needed a warning label. So many people when it first was invented were dropping like flies across America. Still today, people try to get out a pop tart or a burnt bagel with a fork while it is still plugged in, making it the most dangerous appliance in homes today.

Will home air fresheners reduce the risk of indoor air pollutants?

The deal with home airfresheners is that although you think you are smelling pot pouri or cut flowers, your actually smelling a chemical concoction of formaldihide and many other chemicals that are on the carsonegenic most wanted list. What happens when these oily air particals get into the air, they attatch to the hair folicals in your lungs, trapping normal dirt that you would normally breath. So the overuse of electronic air freshners in the home, create an enviroment where the normal dust that you breath is now being trapped in your lungs that produces many forms of asthma and lung diseases and lung tumors. So it's a type of item in your home that you have to look at to see the type of freshner that you use, and the ingredients that go in it. Sometimes a vase full of real cut fresh flowers will do a better job.

Can I die from "pushing too hard" on the toilet?

Using the toilet has been one of those human activities that doesn't get much press. The average person spends over 200 hours a year on "toilet time", and most of the time everything comes out OK. But the problem is when people suffer from constipation. Over 2 billion dollars a year are spent on medicines to alleviate this condition. Not having a bowel evacuation for a week or more will not cause death, but anything more than that could be an indication that there is a blockage or scar tissue. One of the things that occurs when people that try to push too hard is that they could die on the toilet from what's called the Valsalva manoeuvre. The Valsalva manoeuvre is when you hold your nose and your mouth closed when you're trying to close. What happens is it creates a baromic pressure in your heart valves that, if it's weakened in any way already, can cause immediate fainting and even fatality, so people die on the toilet. That's what happened to Elvis; it's how he died on the toilet. The King was on his throne, and he died from the Valsalva manoeuvre.

How dangerous is my automatic garage door?

Since 1983, over 3000, deaths have occurred from automatic garage doors and automatic closing devices like gates and fences. Since 1988, it's been mandatory that they all have auto-retraction devices. That means if something comes in their path, they're supposed to go up automatically. But, auto doors, garage doors, auto gates are still fatal when people try to get around them or stick their hands through them while they're opening. It's still attributing to over 3000 deaths.

Do power black-outs increase my chances of dying?

We're so dependant on electrical power to run everything that we have that when an interrupted electrical surge occurs - either a massive blackout or even within a smaller area - stastically it's proven that five people die when power is off for more than 3 hours at a time. This doesn't occur in most hospitals nowadays have backup generators if they're in the middle of an operation, but elevators that stop, traffic lights that no longer function. Any time the power goes off has nothing to do with the power itself, but that we're so accustomed to relying on it that that amount of people die every 3 hours that the power is off due to lack of electricity.