Genital Injuries Twice as Common as Dental Injuries

It might be funny to see it on TV, but getting hit the genitals is no joke with 16,000 emergency room visits attributed to genital injuries, according to a new study. This number is twice as many as those who go to the ER for dental injuries, and about the same for electrical or chemical burns. The most common causes of genital injuries include bicycles, furniture and clothing, although most research has focused on major traumas such as car accidents that cause genital injuries.

In the most recent study conducted by professors at the University of California, San Francisco, the researchers looked at more common causes of injuries that the average consumer may suffer from the products in their home. The team analyzed a national database of emergency room visits caused by consumer products and identified all genital injuries to women and men 18 years or older between 2002 and 2010. Injured body parts included penises, testicles, bladders, kidneys and external female genitalia.

Perhaps not surprisingly, sports equipment was the leading cause of genital injuries. However, the researchers were also surprised to find that personal grooming products and clothing were amongst the top causes of genital injuries. Men were more likely than women to suffer a genital injury representing 2/3 of emergency room vistits, as well as those 18 to 28 years old who represented 40% of hospital room visits. The researchers noted that the next step is to get more information on the actual injuries, what happens to the patients and the mechanisms of how the injuries actually happened in order to develop safety practices that would prevent genital injuries.