Combs, Not Specified
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.
Personal Care & Safety Products · CPSC Code 1651
Up 31% over 5 years
The verdict
Combs, Not Specified carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 759 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 31% over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 759
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.0%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1651 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for combs, not specified - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume759 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.0%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+31%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Combs, Not Specified (CPSC product code 1651, in the Personal Care & Safety Products category) generate an estimated 759 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 15,183 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 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 rising by about 31% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2008 (1,119 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2018 (344 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for combs, not specified is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 1,537 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the ear (909 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 2,846 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.0% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how combs, not specified 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 | 860 | 946 | |
| 5-14 | 772 | 2,074 | |
| 15-24 | 794 | 1,994 | |
| 25-34 | 514 | 1,400 | |
| 35-44 | 227 | 1,561 | |
| 45-54 | 211 | 1,022 | |
| 55-64 | 47 | 908 | |
| 65-74 | 247 | 445 | |
| 75+ | 451 | 707 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ear | Internal Injury | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Ear | Other | |
| Head | Other | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Neck | Other | |
| Ear | Laceration | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Ear | Puncture | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Ear | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ear | Foreign Body | |
| Internal | Ingestion |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
42 YOF COLORED HAIR USING HAIR DYE, USED NEW COMB, NOW HAS WELTS AND RASH TO HER SCALP DX: CELLULITIS OF SCALP
20 YOF COMES BY EMS FOR RIGHT SIDED NECK PAIN THAT STARTED WHEN SHE WAS COMBING HER HAIR. DX: NECK STRAIN AND PAIN
15YOF REPORTS FROM HOME AFTER ACCIDENTALLY SITTING ON A METAL COMB. DX FOREIGN BODY TO THIGH
29YOF REPORTS WITH EYE INJURY WHEN SHE SCRATCHED IT WITH A METAL COMB. DX CORNEAL ABRASION
18YOF PRESENTS FOR EVALUATION OF LEFT SIDED SHOULDER AND NECK PAIN THAT BEGAN THIS MORNING. SHE STATES SHE WAS COMBING HER HAIR THIS MORNING AND SHE BENT TO THE RIGHT AND FELT A POPPING SENSATION THAT IS LOCALIZED TO THE LEFT SIDE OF HER NECK. DX: STRAIN OF NECK MUSCLE; TRAPEZIUS MUSCLE STRAIN
61YOF WAS COMBING HER HAIR WHEN SHE FELT A POP IN RIGHT SHOULDER DX: STRAINED SHOULDER
14YOF WAS COMBING HER HAIR WHEN SHE FELT A POP IN HER NECK DX: TORTICOLLIS
22MOM WITH SWALLOWING PIECES OF A COMB DX: FOREIGN BODY SWALLOWED
22 YOM STEPPED ON A METAL COMB LAST NIGHT AND IT PUNCTURED LEFT HEEL. DX: PUNCTURE WOUND OF THE FOOT
24YOM FELL FROM BED AND IMPALED BY COMB TO BACK DX: STAB WOUND
23YOM HAS A PIECE OF COMB EMBEDDED IN RT EAR, UNABLE TO GET IT OUT. DX: FOREIGN BODY EAR
21YOF SWALLOWED PART OF A COMB DUE TO PICA DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to combs, not specified on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are combs, not specified?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, combs, not specified have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 759 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from combs, not specified?
The most common injury is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 1,537 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from combs, not specified increasing or decreasing?
Up 31% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for combs, not specified injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 2,846 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by combs, not specified?
Of all ER visits involving combs, not specified, approximately 3.0% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.0%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with combs, not specified?
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 Personal Care & Safety Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 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 5-14 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.
