The entire gulf coast (minus Texas) would like to have a word with the author of this geographical malfeasance, or at least smack them on the head with a large book known as an atlas
We should not refer to the states that are actually in the north of the continental US as "MidWest". I don't care that it made sense 200 years ago. It's wrong now. I WILL die on this hill!
A lot of cities in the intermountain west are in valleys that experience extreme air pressure inversions that concentrate pollution into the valley in the winter. This triggers a ton of low oxygen incidents like asthma attacks.
Yeah, but tourists falling down the sides of hills getting scraped by jagged lava rocks, or tourists going into waves they can’t handle and getting tossed into jagged lava rock, probably aren’t describing the injuries as “nice”! 😉
Hmm you know what, I have a hunch the researchers didn't include these in their sample set either. And I'm thinking you're totally right. One quick thought: maybe "scrapes" accounts for both tourists bouncing off the ocean floor, and tourists slipping and sliding down a lava rock cliff face. 🤔
That's the land of religious trauma in the desert. Known to produce psychological affects that make one feel like they are suffocating which requires an effort to feel like you're... It lead to autoerotic asphyxiation.
I know someone who ded that way. I almost found them while I was pregnant 💀
in today's experience of "things on the internet never die" I see that a data storytelling content program that I worked on nearly a decade ago at a health tech startup still has relevance
Its called altitude sickness and is often classified as a suffocation injury when it requires hospitalization. It's also important to know that hospitalization was never occurs for locals it's almost always some tourist who thinks they can do the same things at 14,000 feet that they do at 10 feet.
Everything is so distressing and horrific right now in U.S., I haven’t laughed in weeks until now—thank you for providing this map of injuries that makes no sense I can discern.
You seem to be conflating two different reports. The map people keep posting shows the most disproportionate injuries not the most common and the report says the suffocation is related to high altitude hypoxia.
I assume (not caring enough to look it up) they're comparing how common the claims are in that state vs. some kind of national average. I think most online maps work that general way and a lot of them seem like BS to me.
You'd think there'd be all kinds of stories in the news about the suffocation deaths in Colorado, but somehow... not so much.
I question this map.
Falling off 14'ers? Okay.
Getting killed by a crazy driver? Yeah, we are manic.
But suffocation?
WTF?
imma take an educated guess since those are all beefeater states, all their soda bottle sized dumps is clogging their pipes. people are in the sewers and enclosed spaces trying to clear out their turds and passing out from the various gasses
Hawaii resident here, we're very outdoors and yes the rocks really are that sharp! So are the reefs, not sure if they include urchin punctures in this too. Combined with the hundreds of thousands of tourists in Volcanoes NP hiking alone, means yea scraped up on the rocks are a common injury
And they said in the article, when they look at the really small data, near drowning is like 6x more likely which lines up with swimming, mostly warnings for dangerous rivers or tides being ignored 🫤
I think you may be right about Massachusetts. There's a high population of kids in contact sports (soccer, hockey, lacrosse, etc.) and parents that will get any injury, however minor, checked out. Plus the adults in rec leagues for those sports that are willing to go to a doctor just in case.
Although looking at it more, there are some patterns that make sense. Spine injuries in ski/snowmobile/drunk driving territory, for example, but I'm struggling a lot to explain the suffocation...
Probably still just a problem with classification, even if it is insurance data.
@anangryopossum.bsky.social I open up Bluesky, I ask myself "should I start posting here?" and then I see a map I made nearly a decade ago. I nod approvingly. Proud of my lil' guy.
Flatlanders coming to Colorado (or other mountain states) and trying to do mountain stuff without proper acclimatization. And getting altitude sickness.
This is referring to injury.
Because of our archaic systems "suffocation" has any relation to respiratory system failure or assistance.
Quite a few of these states have higher than usual elevations, which in turn require more children and elderly needing respiratory treatments.
Wheat bins aren't as bad. We used to crawl around in our dad's grain truck after we are a field supper. You can stay on the surface. Flax seed on the other hand is super deadly. It'll suck you right down.
Most of the old-timey deaths around grain bins were because dipshits would get in there during transfers out to a truck to shovel grain down to the middle. The auger basically sucked 'em down. This was before the widespread adoption of on-site grain dryers that made clumping less of an issue.
Yes absolutely, and with the invention of hopper bottom bins too. Never be in a bin if that grain is meant to be moved in any way. We used to go in when it got to the bottom to sweep the grain towards the auger. There is no shortage of deadly hazards on any farm.
“Remember: these are not the most common injuries in each state—that’s bruising or open wounds nearly everywhere—but rather, injuries that are disproportionately frequent.”
I think this is all made up. None of it makes sense. If something like open wound or abrasion or contusion or ankle sprain isn't #1 then the methodology is wrong. And no way (true) spine dislocation is anywhere near number 1 unless it's made up chiropractor dislocations
I'm sure the methodology is not sound. Can't imagine MVA being that much of an outlier, for instance. And with suffocation, most probably don't make it to the hospital to have a billing diagnosis. The whole thing seems off
Just a point of clarification, the Mountain States are NOT the Midwest. Midwest is Nebraska/Kansas/Iowa/Illinois, and probably should throw Oklahoma/Minnesota/Wisconsin in there too.
We've identified how few people know what Midwest and Mountain West states are, plus those who think grain bins (I assume they mean silos) are a feature of the Mountain West.
All those states with "spine dislocation" as if that's a normal, regular thing that happens. "Bob dislocated his SPINE the other day." Oh, okay... What?!
The same way people suffocate in any state. They have pools and stuff in Nevada just the same as anywhere else. And its not like this is "#1 cause of death for the state" its "disproportionately common" so that just means slightly more than other states. Y'all gotta learn how to read data.
Well, not much to do in those states. People in an empty room will shock themselves out of boredom, that might not be the only kink that emerges from dull environments.
These maps are usually clickbait from advertisers. Even if they're based on reality at all, most common single cause doesn't tell us how common, or the rest of the distribution
Labeling issue? Those grouped states are all rugged with altitude and large swaths of remote wilderness. Is exhaustion from a hike and needing oxygen considered suffocation?
The suffocation states aren’t flat. The Rocky Mountains run through most of them, and I expect that altitude-related asphyxia makes up a big portion of those incidents.
Nitrogen dioxide is especially nasty because you pass out pretty much on the first breath and start to suffocate, then someone jumps in after you and does the same, next thing you know an entire family is wiped out
OH I just remembered this terrifying story, basement potatoes killed an entire family, one by one. The youngest only survived because the last one in the basement left the door open.
Really think this is just a medical report term for what we call “throwing out your back.”
Lotta people shoveling snow in WI-MN-SD.
Dunno about WA though.
Chicagoan here who is intrigued by Illinois's facial injuries. Fist fights? Falling face first? Hockey sticks to the nose? Cubs vs Sox drunken nonsense?
I’m going to guess a combination on grain storage and oil/gas/mining related confined spaces. Plus weak state level workplace regulation and enforcement.
Comments
https://bsky.app/profile/felinecannon.bsky.social/post/3ls2hb6nsgk2f
The PNW does not have good lifting form because everything is slippery and damp most of the time.
I know someone who ded that way. I almost found them while I was pregnant 💀
She lied to me about it until I told her there was no point in filing.
I eventually stopped lying bc they said it was arrhythmia and that scared someone we knew who had it, so I tell the truth.
*falls off my deck*
https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/enforcement/reference-news-release-wyoming-and-kansas-refiners-agree-settle-clean-air-act-violations
"We got another jerker here!"
I question this map.
Falling off 14'ers? Okay.
Getting killed by a crazy driver? Yeah, we are manic.
But suffocation?
WTF?
Up in the mountains it is common to see canned oxygen for sale at any general store.
It doesn’t have to happen often to make this list, just more often than other states.
I wonder if Massachusetts doesn’t really get more concussions, but might be more likely to get checked for one.
Probably still just a problem with classification, even if it is insurance data.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170210031138/https://amino.com/blog/common-personal-injuries/
It's all starting to make sense now.
Because of our archaic systems "suffocation" has any relation to respiratory system failure or assistance.
Quite a few of these states have higher than usual elevations, which in turn require more children and elderly needing respiratory treatments.
*Speculation
Silos are also especially hazardous.
That explains much.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6040911/
* "sprained hand"
Okay, yeah, that checks out.
Mix that with people being stupid, the only constant in this world, and you get people dying of suffocation.
Or falling off the roof trying to remove ice dams.
NE: ski injury
North: shoveling snow off roof
PacNW: Slipping on spilt Starbucks while on shrooms.
Chemical asphyxia – caused by gases like Republican monoxide: colorless, odorless, and quietly choking the life out of its citizens.
Louisiana: should be foot injury, but it's...facial injury, what?
Florida: head injury. nope, too easy.
Connecticut: My back!
New Jersey: [redacted]
I have a relative who had to move from CO back closer to sea level though because the air's too thin and she couldn't get enough oxygen
Any alternative is... terrifying...
Thank you Mr. Fart. That is truly a fucking horrific killer.
Lotta people shoveling snow in WI-MN-SD.
Dunno about WA though.
This one makes perfect sense and explains a great deal
Grain silos are death traps. Concrete& Ready-Mix plants have suffocation accidents frequently.
Also, logging, commercial fishing and landscaping.