Ouch! Injuries rise on popular inflatable amusements

Lori Grisham | USA TODAY Network

You may want think twice before you let your kid bounce on an inflatable, according to a new report released exclusively to USA TODAY Network from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Injuries related to large inflatables like moon bounces and slides are on the rise, the federal agency reports after reviewing data from 2003 to 2013.

"Parents and caregivers need to be aware that there can be serious incidents in backyard and community events with inflatables," Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for the CPSC, told USA TODAY Network. The study defines "inflatable amusements" as air-filled structures with flexible fabric kept inflated by continuous air flow by one or more blowers.

The CPSC estimates there were more than 100,000 injuries associated with the use of inflatables treated in emergency rooms from 2003 to 2013. During that time, the estimated total number of injuries increased from roughly 5,000 in 2003 to more than 17,000 in 2013.

The trend should be seen as a "wake-up call for parents," Davis said. Children ages 4 to 15 made up 61% of the the overall injuries from 2011 to 2013, according to the report. However, adults were injured, too. There were 12 deaths from 2003 to 2013 and half of those were adult fatalities, the report states.

The CPSC has been working with ASTM International, a voluntary standards organization to "beef up" the safety standards for residential and commercial inflatables, according to Davis. However, the primary goal of the report is to make parents aware of the risks, she said.

"Whenever you have something, whether it's a fixed slide or a flexible slide, they have to be used with care, supervision and properly," Rick Locker, a consumer product safety expert and a lawyer for the toy industry, told USA TODAY Network. "If not, there's an increased chance of injury."

Small inflatable toys that are inflated once and don't require a blower were not included in the report. The toy industry has not seen an uptick in injury on those devices, according to Locker.

Bouncer popularity

Sales numbers and industry estimates for how many people use inflatables are not available, Dr. Gary Smith, a pediatric emergency medicine expert and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told USA TODAY Network.

That's because inflatables come in so many varieties and the industry is varied, he said. They can be rented, leased or purchased, and there's not a central group tracking that information, according to Smith.

Smith published a study about inflatable bouncers in 2012 for Nationwide Children's Hospital. That study found on average one child is treated every 45 minutes in the USA for a injury associated with an inflatable device.

"There are very few things that I've seen in my more than 30 years of working in the field of injury, research and prevention that have increased at this alarming rate. This would be an epidemic by any definition," he said.

The rise in injury is very likely due to an increase of exposure to the inflatables, but that's not a reason to disregard the data, he said.

"This kind of spike in the number of injuries is not at all common, due to any source. It really is a call to action," he said.

He doesn't think parents should necessarily keep their kids off of bouncers, but he does think they should take precautions to minimize risk, he said.

Safety advice

In connection with the report the CPSC offered these safety tips:

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