People Explain Which Things Cause Way More Deaths Than People Realize

* The following article contains references to domestic violence.

After a few decades on planet Earth, most humans are aware of the dangers that surround us.

We learn not to play with fire, lightning is pretty but deadly, that rattling snake isn't asking you to come closer, don't eat random berries and mushrooms you find and before trying surfing, learn to swim.

But there are some hazards out there that haven't become common knowledge.

Like don't take selfies with the fluffy cows in Yellowstone National Park, apparently.

Giphy

Reddit user Audibud asked:

"What causes way more deaths than people are aware of?"

Oops!

"Tripping."

"On average around 17,000 people a year in the US die from injuries incurred after tripping and falling."

~ Wild_Vixenx

"A girl I went to high school with tripped at work and hit her head on a filing cabinet. She said that she felt fine, then later that night she didn't feel good, so she went to the hospital."

"I'm not clear about what happened medically, but she died."

"It was absolutely shocking."

~ ThereGoesChickenJane

Rest Stop

"Driving while sleepy."

"Currently sleep deprived (at home all day—no driving risk to anyone) so I was just Googling this."

"Apparently if you've been awake for 24 hours straight, your cognitive ability is impaired to the level on par with someone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1%."

"0.08% is enough to get you hit with a DUI in most states."

"Seriously. Please do not lack-of-sleep and drive."

~ HintOfMalice

"I used to work overnights."

"The mornings where I would arrive home and not remember the drive at all were pretty scary."

"I was generally pretty good at stopping for a quick nap if I was too tired, but occasionally autopilot took over."

~ MorkSal

Never Ignore An Infection

"Sepsis infections."

"This almost killed my aunt. She was in the hospital for several weeks. They pumped so much fluid into her she didn’t even look like a real person."

"They told us it wasn’t looking good and her kidneys were simply shot. They told us to prepare for the worst."

"All of a sudden overnight, her kidneys just kicked into high gear, and her entire body started fighting again. She was able to get past the sepsis and survive. She was so weak she could barely stand, let alone walk."

"She had to go to physical therapy to restrengthen her muscles. This woman would go on several mile hikes on weekends before this. She was not allowed to go to work until she could walk upstairs and grip objects in her hands."

"All of her hair fell out. She had long, curly hair, and it just all fell out. Once the fluid weight was gone, we realized she was about 20 lbs lighter. It was terrifying."

"I am so happy she survived, but we have no idea how."

~ Royalchariot

Brush Up

"Poor dental hygiene."

"It can cause a slew of other health problems, including sepsis and heart attacks."

~ Ao-sagi

"The state of your mouth is very dependent on your gut flora. For instance, during depressed periods of my life, I've gone months without brushing my teeth only for there to be some moderate gingivitis and perhaps some cavities beginning to form at worst."

"However, in friends of mine, the same amount of brushing in the same time period could cause serious damage. A huge part of human health is about taking care of your gut flora."

"However, we don't really know how to do this, so just assume you have a poor gut flora."

"Basically, not everyone will get sepsis and other terrible diseases from poor dental hygiene, but those who do may never know they're even at risk for it. Brushing your teeth regularly is a preventative measure."

"In some people, you may be fine to get lazy on the routine, but in others, it might just kill you. The risks are way higher than the rewards of not brushing your teeth, so please f*cking do it."

~ Bruhtatochips23415

Early Warning Sign

"Death by strangulation has increased 90% in the last decade."

~ Ancient-Ear-9244

"PSA to anyone reading this that your partner strangling you is the main indicator that they will murder you in the future."

"I’m talking about domestic abuse here, not consensual choking. If your partner attacks and strangles you, they are statistically much more likely to eventually murder you."

~ Aggressive_Sky8492

"It's astronomically more likely."

"I believe the stats I read said a man who chokes you is 750% more likely to kill you within the next year."

~ girlxlrigx

Resistance On The Rise

"Antibiotic resistance is on the rise."

"75% of all antibiotics are used in meat and dairy/egg farming. They are used to make the animals gain more weight."

"If you want to slow down antibiotic resistance, advocate for better farming."

~ HayMakerGal

"I've been reading some research papers, and it turns out dentists are infamous for prescribing unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotics as 'standard procedure'."

"I'm so grateful the early dentists I had when I was young and naïve never prescribed them, as I would have taken them no questions asked."

~ letsgofrolicking

Keep Breathing

"Asthma and allergies."

"10 people a day die from asthma in the United States. More people than died on 9/11 die every year due to smog, pollution, smoke and allergies. But when my ex-husband had an asthma attack that put him into the ICU for a week, everyone acted like it was some sort of joke."

"People treat asthma and allergies like they are just something for hypochondriacs to fuss over. How many times do we see posts from people whose families think it's funny to just slip in some allergens and see what happens?"

"That candle smoke or all the heavy perfume can't hurt anyone—they are just being snowflakes."

"It's not a joke."

~ ThrowawayIHateSpez

"My mother died from an asthma attack when I was 7."

"Over the years, I've shut down people with this fact when they talk lightly of asthma attacks or not carrying a puffer, despite having asthma."

"Keep in mind, there wasn't any ambulances available when my mother died. They got there 15 minutes later. She was dead by then. You never know."

"I keep two puffers all the time, one for my bag, one for my house. Always."

~ JonSnowsBedwarmer

Hazards Of Pro-Forced Birth Laws

"Childbirth. Yes, even in countries with modern medicine."

~ stealth_bohemian

"I suppose just for some perspective, where I live the maternal mortality rate is around 4-5 per 100,000 births."

"In 2021 in the US it was ~33 per 100,000—1,205—and has been increasing sharply every year since 2000.

"Sooo... moral of the story I guess is go somewhere other than the US for modern medicine. Pretty scary."

~ kitsunevremya

CDC.gov

Tipping Hazard

"Vending machines."

"No seriously, people get mad at vending machines and they tip the machines over on themselves."

"Vending machines kill more people than sharks or cows and something else I can't remember."

~ Fancy_Cassowary

Deep Breaths Instead

"Pushing too hard on the toilet."

"Causes lots of strokes."

~ RCesther0

Backup Cameras Save Lives

"Six hundred people die in parking lots every year because somebody didn’t look behind them when they backed up their car."

"I wouldn’t have imagined it was that high."

~ Ohsoeasy

"This is why my dad taught me to never walk in front of or behind a car that was running unless I made direct eye contact with the driver."

"I don’t mean at crosswalks, but things like using a sidewalk that crosses a parking lot exit, or in the lot at the grocery store."

"Unless you see them see you, you don’t know that they’ve seen you."

~ TheUnculturedSwan

World's Most Dangerous Animal

"Mosquitos."

A lot of us just find them annoying and itchy, but in other parts of the world mosquitos kill millions of people via malaria, yellow fever, Dengue fever, Zika virus..."

~ Expensive_Plant9323

Your Head Is Where Your Brain Is

"Not wearing a helmet. A helmet saved my life as a kid, hit a pothole and the chain fell off my bike—it was one of those brake-pedals."

"Hit a second pothole and fell off, still broke both arms, but my helmet was destroyed. I got out of that with minimal head/face injury, but impact still messed with my c-spine pretty bad."

"I see kids going down my street on bikes, scooters, skateboards, and none of them have helmets. It makes me so anxious, and I don't want to seem weird suggesting they wear one, either."

~ Labella-lola

"And now it's e-bikes and e-scooters, too, which can go over 30 mph."

"Seeing 12 year olds zoom down the street with no protection is so scary."

~ IdoItForTheMemez

Every Breath You Take

"Air pollution."

"1 in every 9 deaths worldwide—higher in lower and middle-income countries like where I live. Man, it sucks to unavoidably breathe in my slow killer daily."

~ MoNastri

Put The Baby In The Crib

"I am a Pediatric Emergency Medicine doctor: CO-SLEEPING WITH BABIES

"Ask any peds ER doctor. The most common deaths we see in our ER are babies that get smothered while sleeping. Co-sleeping in the bed, falling asleep with the baby on the couch, letting the baby sleep on the edge of the bed and falling into the crack between the mattress and the wall."

"They usually come in between 0600 and 0700. That's when people are waking up for work and school, and notice something is wrong."

"The kid is usually already long dead, but EMS usually do not like to call time of death on babies in the field. So they run the code when they get there, and transport to our ER."

"We run the code for a bit. Often, the kid is clearly dead. It's mostly performative. It supposedly gives families closure to see the code performed and time of death called."

"Not sure how many I've seen. Usually several per year at our hospital. Sometimes multiple within a month."

"Of all the kids that I've participated in codes in, or called time of death on, babies that died from unsafe sleep situations are the most common."

~ thetreece

There are a lot of dangers in the world.

What would you add to the list?

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If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, help is available here: The Hotline

In Canada, help is available through the Ending Violence Association of Canada website.