Antihistamines
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Transportation & Substances · CPSC Code 1928
Down 23% over 5 years
The verdict
Antihistamines carry a danger score of 36/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 4,808 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 23% over the last five years.
- 36/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 4,808
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 7.1%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1928 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 36/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for antihistamines - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume4,808 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)7.1%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-23%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Antihistamines (CPSC product code 1928, in the Transportation & Substances category) generate an estimated 4,808 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 96,160 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 36/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 23% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2014 (6,206 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2022 (3,220 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for antihistamines is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 96,106 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the face (28 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 96,160 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 7.1% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how antihistamines fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 50,731 | 45,429 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Face | Foreign Body | |
| Internal | Aspiration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
4YOF POSSIBLE INGESTION ON 25MG ***. + LETHARGYDX ENCOUNTER SCREENING
2YOM C/O DRUG OVERDOSE. FAMILY REPORTS PATIENT POSSIBLY TOOK 2 *** TABLETS. MOTHER FOUND CHILD WITH *** TABLETS IN HIS MOUTH. POISON CONTROL CONTACTED AND RECOMMENDED ACTIVATED CHARCOAL AND OBSERVATION. DX: ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE
4YOM ACCIDENTALLY INGESTED WOMEWHERE BETWEEN 52 TO 122MG OF ***, MOTHER FOUND OPEN PACKS AROUND HIM. PT ACTING NORMALLY. DX: MEDICATION OVERDOSE, ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE OF ***
19MOF CHILD POSSIBLE INGESTION OF AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF DIPHENHYDRAMINE 50MG GEL CAPSULES DX: ACCIDENTAL DRUG INGESTION
2YOM REPORTS WITH POSSIBLE INGESTION. PATIENT'S MOTHER STATES SHE WAS HAVING A DISAGREEMENT WITH THE BABY'S FATHER (POLYSUBSTANCE ABUSER) WHO WAS ABUSING PROMETHAZINE. FATHER HAD MIXED THE PROMETHAZINE WITH A GREEN JUICE AND MOTHER THINKS PATINET MAY HAVE SWALLOWED IT. DX POSSIBLE INGESTION.
2 YOF C/O POSSIBLE DRUG OVERDOSE. PER PARENTS FOUND WITH OPEN BOTTLE OF *** AND PILLS SCATTERED ACROSS HER. PARENTS UNSURE IF PATIENT HAD INGESTED ANY. PATIENT WAS THEN PUT TO BED. PATIENT WOKE UP IN THE MIDDLE THE NIGHT AND APPEARED TO BE CONFUSED ACTING BIZARRE AND NOT TALKING. DX ACCIDENTAL DRUG INGESTION
2YOM TO ER W/ MOM FOR SUSPECTED INGESTION OF *** BRAND MAXIMUM STRENGTH SINUS CONGESTION PHENYLEPHRINE HCL 10MG BLISTER PACK IN HAND , MOM SAYS 4 TABS MISSING & SAYS SHE MAY HAVE TAKEN DURING PREVIOUS ILLNESS, DOES NOT REMEMBER , SHE SAYS THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF PILLS IN PTS MOUTH, PT VOMITED 1X DX OBSERVATION FOR SUSPECTED TOXIC EFFECT FROM INGESTED SUBSTANCE
18 MOM PRESENTS WITH POSSIBLE ACCIDENTAL INGESTION OF DOXYLAMINE 25 MG TABLETS. MOM WOKE AND THE BOTTLE WAS SPILLED ON THE FLOOR. DX: NO DX, LEFT WITHOUT BEING SEEN.
23MOM INGESTED AN ENTIRE BOTTLE OF CHILDREN'S *** ALLERGY MEDICATION LIQUID DX: ANTICHOLINERGIC DRUG OVERDOSE
15MOM PRESENTS AFTER ACCIDENTAL INGESTION OF *** AND MELATONIN. DX: DRUG INGESTION ACCIDENTAL
3YOF PRESENTS AFTER INGESTING 20 TABLETS OF 4MG *** OUT OF A BLISTER PACK AT HOME. MOM REPORTS SHE CLIMBED UP ON A SHELF AND GOT THE MEDICATION. DX; ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE
4YOM INGESTED 4 OZ OF *** THIS MORNING. MOTHER CALLED POISON CONTROL WHO REFERRED HIM TO THE ED. DX: ACCIDENTAL DRUG INGESTION
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
I am reporting a faulty child safety cap on a bottle of Kirkland brand Children's Allertec liquid medicine (generic for [REDACTED]). My 2.5 year old daughter found a bottle of this medicine, opened it by herself, and ingested a large dose on 11/15/2016. She experienced negative effects from the medicine, and had to be taken to the emergency room. I tested the cap after finding her with the bottle, and found that though the cap said that it was a child safety cap, it did not offer any resistance to being simply unscrewed easily by a child. It behaved like a normal twist-off cap, not a safety cap.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to antihistamines on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are antihistamines?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, antihistamines have a danger score of 36/100 (low risk). An estimated 4,808 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from antihistamines?
The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 96,106 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from antihistamines increasing or decreasing?
Down 23% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for antihistamines injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 96,160 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by antihistamines?
Of all ER visits involving antihistamines, approximately 7.1% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.9%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with antihistamines?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Transportation & Substances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 36/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
