Diaper Fasteners
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.
Nursery & Baby Products · CPSC Code 1551
Down 93% over 5 years
The verdict
Diaper Fasteners carry a danger score of 26/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 83 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 93% over the last five years.
- 26/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 83
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 18.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1551 - last data year 2023.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 26/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for diaper fasteners - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume83 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)18.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-93%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Diaper Fasteners (CPSC product code 1551, in the Nursery & Baby Products category) generate an estimated 83 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 918 ER-treated injuries across the 17-year span from 2007 to 2023. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 26/100 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 93% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2014 (157 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2013 (6 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for diaper fasteners is derma/conjunct to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 439 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (88 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 690 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 18.9% 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 16 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how diaper fasteners 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 2023-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2007–2023)
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 | 365 | 325 | |
| 5-14 | 5 | 0 | |
| 25-34 | 0 | 128 | |
| 45-54 | 15 | 0 | |
| 55-64 | 79 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Trunk | Derma/conjunct | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Internal | Ingestion | |
| Foot | Puncture | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Elbow | Dislocation | |
| Foot | Foreign Body | |
| Face | Foreign Body | |
| Hand | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
2YOF WITH TAPE FROM DIAPER LODGE IN RT. NOSTRIL DX FOREIGN BODY IN NOSE
60YOM STEPPED ON SAFETY PIN TO RIGHT FOOT FOUR DAYS AGO.OOZING AND PAINFUL WITH RED STREAKS AND FEVER TODAY.DX PUNCTURE WOUND.
32YOF C/OL AXILLA ABSCESSX5DAYS,PT THINKS GOT BIT BY SPIDER, TRIED COMPRESSES,POKED W/SAFETY PIN,PN/REDNESS INCREASED, DX CELLULITIS L AXILLA
16MOF WITH DIAPER RASH X 1 WEEK. DX DIAPER DERMATITIS.
10MOF HEAD INJURY FELL FROM HIGH CHAIR TO FLOOR
4YOF SWALLOWED A PUSH PIN @ DAY CAREDX: FB INGESTION
12 MONTH M SWALLOWED A SAFTEY PIN
18 MNAM DIAPER RASHDIPAER RASH
19 MWF HAS DIAPER RASHDIAPER RASH
217 MO NAF HAS DIAPER RASHDIAPER RASH
2YOM WAS HAVING DIAPER CHANGED BY MOTHER AND PT THROW SELF ON GROUND &SHE TWISTED LEFT ARM.DX: NURSEMAID'S ELBOW
206 M O NAM HAS DIAPER RASHDIAPER RASH
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to diaper fasteners on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are diaper fasteners?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, diaper fasteners have a danger score of 26/100 (low risk). An estimated 83 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from diaper fasteners?
The most common injury is derma/conjunct to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 439 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from diaper fasteners increasing or decreasing?
Down 93% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for diaper fasteners injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 690 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by diaper fasteners?
Of all ER visits involving diaper fasteners, approximately 18.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (81.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with diaper fasteners?
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 Nursery & Baby Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 26/100 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.
