Citation

Colby W. Am. J. Dis. Child. (1911) 1930; 39(5): 1031-1035.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1930, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/archpedi.1930.01930170118009

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Fear of safety-pins is universal among parents of small children. This fear is no less real because the danger lies hidden behind a name that conveys a false assurance of safety. My clinical experience in the practice of pediatrics has led to the realization that the so-called safety-pin constitutes a menace as genuine as the fear encountered. Despite the general knowledge of the danger of the open safety-pin, its constant use makes for an almost unavoidable source of accident varying in degree of severity from scratches on the skin to death from internal injuries.

That the safety-pin is a decidedly important factor in the field of foreign body injury is shown by the figures from Jackson's Clinic in 1928.1 Of 1,728 cases of foreign body injury to the esophagus and the air passages, approximately 12 per cent were due to the safety-pin.