Eyeglasses
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 1606
No trend data
The verdict
Eyeglasses carry a danger score of 36/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 14,073 ER-treated injuries a year that are stable over the most recent five-year window.
- 36/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 14,073
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.3%
- end in hospital admission
- 75+
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1606 - last data year 2010.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 36/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for eyeglasses - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume14,073 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.3%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trendN/A
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Eyeglasses (CPSC product code 1606, in the Personal Care & Safety Products category) generate an estimated 14,073 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 84,437 ER-treated injuries across the 6-year span from 2005 to 2010. 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 stable over the most recent five-year window, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (16,735 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (12,716 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for eyeglasses is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 38,053 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the face (9,351 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 20,892 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 4.3% 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 eyeglasses 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 2010-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2010)
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 | 1,192 | 740 | |
| 5-14 | 8,119 | 4,465 | |
| 15-24 | 3,480 | 2,107 | |
| 25-34 | 2,769 | 1,801 | |
| 35-44 | 3,554 | 3,293 | |
| 45-54 | 4,858 | 5,470 | |
| 55-64 | 5,001 | 5,657 | |
| 65-74 | 3,794 | 7,248 | |
| 75+ | 7,979 | 12,913 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Fracture | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Eyeball | Hemorrhage | |
| Face | Other | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Other | |
| Lower Arm | Fracture | |
| Ear | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
70YOF FELL WHILE PICKING UP EYEGLASSESFEMUR FRACTURE
66 YOM INJURED FACE FROM FALLING OFF CURB INTO THE STREET, WEARINGEYEGLASSES. DX-FALL, LACERATION FACIAL, MAXILLARY ABRASION
72YOM WALKING ON SIDEWALK SLIPPED & FELL FORWARD STRIKE FACE ON CONCRETWEARING GLASSES DX: ORBITAL FX, CHI
78YOM GOT DRUNK AND FELL DOWN AND STRUCK EYEGLASSES THAT DUG INTO FACELACERATION FACE
8 YOF-FELL ON PLAYGROUND CONCRETE @ SCHOOL-WAS WEARING GLASSES & FELL FACE 1ST BENDING GLASSES & LAC TO FACE DX FACE LAC *
FACIAL CONT,S/P FALL: 45YOF COLLIDED W/ HUSBAND WHILE CARRYING FIREWOODON RD, C/O MILD PAIN TO FACE, KNOCKED HER GLASSES OFF
8YOF FELL WHEN HER SISTER LANDED ON HER GLASSES CUTTING PT'S RIGHT EYEBROW AREA. DX: 2CM CURVILINEAR FOREHEAD LACERATION
58 YO F TRIPPED ON GRAVEL WHILE WALKING IN DARK AND FELL. EYEGLASSES FLEW OFF. DX:CHI, FOREHEAD ABRASION.
51 YOF SLIPPED ON ICE AND FELL HITTING EYEGLASSES BREAKING THEM AND SUSTAINING A CORNEAL ABRASION LEFT EYE
DX SUBCONJ HEMORRHAGE SECONDARY TO BLUNT TRAUMA: 45YOM REDNESSLAT ASPECT L EYE X 3D; PUT ON GLASSES R HAND CAUGHT GLOVES POKE EYW W G
36YOF TRIPPED AND FELL AT BAR AND HER GLASSES STRUCK HER FACE CAUSING LAC TO L EYEBROW
56YOF WAS VISITING PT IN HOSPITAL, TRIPPED ON PARKING LOT WHEEL STOP,FELL, BROKE GLASSES WHICH CUT LT EYEBROW. DX - PUNCTURE WOUND-FACE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to eyeglasses on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are eyeglasses?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, eyeglasses have a danger score of 36/100 (low risk). An estimated 14,073 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from eyeglasses?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 38,053 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from eyeglasses increasing or decreasing?
No trend data.
Who is most at risk for eyeglasses injuries?
The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 20,892 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by eyeglasses?
Of all ER visits involving eyeglasses, approximately 4.3% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.7%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with eyeglasses?
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 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 75+ 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.
