Scissors, 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.
Containers, Tableware & Packaging · CPSC Code 450
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Scissors, Not Specified carry a danger score of 38/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 13,060 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 38/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 13,060
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 1.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 450 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 38/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for scissors, not specified - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume13,060 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)1.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+9%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Scissors, Not Specified (CPSC product code 450, in the Containers, Tableware & Packaging category) generate an estimated 13,060 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 261,197 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 38/100 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 roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2005 (18,539 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2018 (8,901 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for scissors, not specified is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 130,166 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (33,409 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 63,735 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 1.8% 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 scissors, 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 | 14,731 | 9,993 | |
| 5-14 | 33,743 | 29,992 | |
| 15-24 | 16,264 | 21,855 | |
| 25-34 | 12,541 | 20,117 | |
| 35-44 | 11,262 | 16,054 | |
| 45-54 | 10,513 | 16,092 | |
| 55-64 | 8,591 | 12,652 | |
| 65-74 | 5,234 | 9,009 | |
| 75+ | 5,203 | 7,345 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Upper Leg | Laceration | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Ear | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Toe | Laceration | |
| Finger | Puncture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
14YOF STEPPED ON A PAIR OF SCISSORS ON FLOOR WHEN NOT WEARING SHOES. + LAC TO TOEDX LAC MIDDLE TOE
4YOM PRESENTS OT ED FOR UPPER LIP LACERATION. PT WAS IN ART CLASS WHEN FELLOW STUDENT HIT HIM IN UPPER LIP W/ PAIR OF SCISSORS. DX: LIP LACERATION
25 YOF FOR LEFT INDEX FINGER DISTAL LACERATION WITH A NEW SCISSORS WHILE RE-DESIGNING TEDDY BEAR LAST NIGHT BY CUTTING THE ARMS AND LEG AND REPLACING IT. DX: AVULSION SKIN OF FINGER.
12 YOF CUT L FOREARM W/SCISSORS, STRESSED DX; FOREARM LAC
24 YOM CUT HIS LEFT MIDDLE FINGER WITH SCISSORS TODAY. DX: LACERATION LEFT MIDDLE FINGER.
36YOF PATIENT REPORTS THAT SHE WAS CUTTING BROCCOLI WITH KITCHEN SCISSORS AND CUT HER FINGER DX: AVULSION FINGER TIP
38YOF C/O LACERATION TO LEFT INDEX FINGER S/P PT ACCIDENTALLY CUT HER FINGER WITH A PAIR OF SCISSOR JUST PRIOR TO ARRIVAL. DX: LACERATION TO LEFT INDEX FINGER
10 YOF USING SCISSORS AND CUT HER RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER SUSTAINING SUPERFICIAL LACERATION, DX; FINGER LACERATION
2 YOF CUT FINGER ON SCISSORS DX LACERATION FINGER
2YOF HAS LACERATION AFTER PT CUT HAND ON SCISSORS. DX: NONE; PT ELOPED
50YOM HAS LACERATION TO FINGER FROM SHARP SCISSORS. DX: NONE; PT ELOPED
2YOM PRESENTS AFTER HE WAS PLAYING WITH SCISSORS AND CUT HIS RIGHT PINKY FINGER. DX: FINGER LACERATION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to scissors, not specified on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are scissors, not specified?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, scissors, not specified have a danger score of 38/100 (low risk). An estimated 13,060 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from scissors, not specified?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 130,166 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from scissors, not specified increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for scissors, not specified injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 63,735 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by scissors, not specified?
Of all ER visits involving scissors, not specified, approximately 1.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with scissors, 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 Containers, Tableware & Packaging
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 38/100 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.
