People Explain Which Things Seem Harmless But Can Actually Be Life-Threatening

Quicksand....

Island beaches. There are a lot in Hawaii that are a lot more dangerous than tourists realize. Islands are on the edge of the vast ocean and can sweep people in.

cmccormick

Dry Humor

Wet tile.

theobviousbiscuit

This is exactly why those prank videos of people putting butter on the tiles for people to slip on make me so angry. You can kill someone surprisingly easily that way, it's not funny at all.

cassiecasper

Oh god. There's a viral video of a dude doing this to himself as a joke and he slips and kicks a counter or something and compound fractures his toe and I've only seen it once but my whole body is miserable just thinking about it.

Chapstickie

Keep Brushing

Poor dental hygiene can lead to heart disease.

speckledgem

This literally happened to my grandpa this last weekend, well at least they caught it this last weekend and he needed a 4 hour surgery to fix it. He's doing ok now but is still in the hospital.

At first they thought it was a stroke because his right side was numb, and they thought he was having mini heart attacks. The heart attacks were actually seizures brought on by the sinus infection putting pressure on his brain.

BellerophonSkydiving

Through the Pane

Springs in double pane windows. The windows are heavier than you think so the springs are pretty strong. A friend that works as a maintenance guy at an apartment complex posted a pic of one of the balancers (as they're called) that came lose and went completely through the motorcycle helmet he wears when replacing them.

It still cracked his skull, and the ER doc said if he wasn't wearing the helmet he would have definitely died. Scary to think something as simple as a window can kill you. We all know garage springs are dangerous, but so are window springs.

across-the-board

H2O

Water. Surprising amount of people die of drowning.

Aizpunr

Swift Kick

Walking around or behind a horse without keeping your hand on it.

Horses can get very scared very fast and a well placed kick can beak your neck, can even stop your heart.

If you must move around one, keep a hand on it after it is aware of your presence and slide it with you so it knows where you are, also stay very close to it the whole time so the potential kick has less wind-up.

ironwolf6464

CO Issues

Carbon monoxide, since you can't smell or taste it you won't know it's there.

archSkeptic

CO terrifies me. We have like 6 detectors in our house. My mom went to high school with this kid who lost his entire family to CO a few years after graduation.

He and his wife had a new baby. They were at his parent's house for the holidays around Christmas. All of his extended family was there.

Their baby was having trouble breathing, so he and his wife took the baby to the ER. By the time they got back, everyone else was dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. He lost his whole family.

Local codes only require 1 CO detector in the whole house. We've got them outside all the bedrooms, by the furnace room, by the dryer, etc. I don't mess around with that stuff.

Alpacalypsenoww

A Bad Grip

Saving someone with a heimlich grip. You can definitely rupture someone's organs with this move and people have died as a result of being saved by this procedure. Always send someone to the hospital after doing this as the victim might otherwise bleed to death in their sleep that night.

sebastiaandaniel

Just a Dash....

Eating cinnamon.

CritterNYC

Was looking to see if anyone said this. Cinnamon will dry your mouth and throat out badly, it'll mess you up quick. That whole cinnamon spoonful fad a few years ago (maybe more than a few, I'm getting old) was super dangerous. I don't remember if anyone died, but I know people ended up in the hospital.

jondesu

Roadkill

Crossing the road, even when doing it "properly."

DryProperty

Add Jelly

Eating peanut butter directly out of the jar with a spoon. If you choke on it, it's going to be nearly impossible to dislodge.

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/18/magazine/l-dangerous-peanut-butter-227906.html 

DerHoggenCatten

But do you eat it as one giant mouthful? That sounds really unpleasant honestly. I often take a big spoonful but I don't just shove that spoon directly in my mouth afterwards. You gotta savor that sh!t because it's like 400-500 calories.

Chapstickie

The Obvi

For a serious (and somewhat generic) answer, probably not getting enough sleep or not drinking enough water, I am guilty of both of these things but it can really make you feel like utter crap and lead to serious health complications.

Few_Function_8059

Steps

My answer: stairs.

Jkwon6227

I fell down the stairs when I was 13 and couldn't sit for like 2 months and I now have a bony bump on my hip 10 years later

In hindsight I wonder if I mildly broke my pelvis and it healed wrong?

But yeah. Stairs can seriously mess you up.

TheQueenOfSomething

I have it! 

Shingles. It is already inside you!!

whiskeycaninebbq

It is miserable. I had shingles at 30 on my right side shoulder, neck, scalp and ear mostly. It can come back again, and in a different place. I am scared of it being on my face and blinding me.

tkdbbelt

Not Funny

"Pranking" someone with allergies by giving them a little bit of that allergen (I've seen articles of people putting peanuts into an allergic person's food).

MysticAviator

What the hell? That's not a prank, that's straight up attempted murder.

My friend is deathly allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and one time a kid chased him around with peanuts in his hand. Kid got suspended. Food allergies are not something to mess around with.

gnoble22

Listen Ladies....

Leaving a tampon in too long can cause toxic shock syndrome and it can be deadly.

spookyevilghostt

Crispy

Sunburns can be very dangerous.

Normally you don't think too much of them, just a few days of irritated/itchy skin, but if you aren't careful you drastically increase your chance of getting malignant melanoma (skin cancer) through a handful of decent sunburns.

Currdogger

High Tension

Garage door springs.

huh_phd

I am very handy and can fix everything around the house. But I don't mess with garage door springs. I call the experts in for that one.

MediocreFisherman

Anything with such a high amount of tension is so dangerous, when I think about it it's quite terrifying that we use these things so frequently.

stoneballoon132

Kitty has Claws

A cat scratching you and breaking the skin. Cat's claws carry a deadly bacteria that, if untreated, can kill you.

HouseFanatic64

Emotions are Fragile

Emotional neglect - when you have ' everything '. People always brush it off as being too needy or whatever, but in reality life long emotional neglect especially during childhood development it can impact your life deeply. You can become depressed, anxious and have anxiety. If you suspect that you might suffer from this I have plenty of resources to help guide you to healing and growth. Comment or message.

elizacandle