Power tools · #45 of 45 by ER visits

Soldering equipment & glue guns: injury statistics

Soldering irons and hot glue guns. Mostly burns. In 2025 they were involved in an estimated 1,111 emergency room visits in the US.

Photo: www_erzetich_com / Unsplash

1,111

ER visits in 2025 · low sample

1.5%

admitted or transferred

-3%

change since 2016

aged 65 or over

ER visits per year

2016–2025 · 39 sampled cases in 2025

Injury type

Share of ER visits, 2021–2025

Thermal burn56%

Scald burn30%

Chemical burn4.2%

Contusion or abrasion2.4%

Ingested object2.2%

Foreign body1.7%

Body part injured

Share of ER visits, 2021–2025

Finger42%

Hand23%

Upper leg7.4%

Lower arm6.5%

Wrist6.5%

Lower leg5.0%

Age of injured people

27% male · 2021–2025

0-45.0%

5-1440%

15-2415%

25-4420%

45-6416%

65-741.0%

75+2.1%

Real cases

From NEISS case narratives, 2024–2025. Abbreviations expanded.

53-year-old female who presents with concern for fall. She reports that she had a mechanical fall, she slipped on water. She landed on her knees/right side. She did not strike her head or lose consciousness and does not take any blood thinners. Er d.

11-year-old male touched his arm to hot glue from a hot glue gun on cardboard at school. — diagnosis: Burn of right forearm.

13-year-old male was at school and forgot that he had the glue gun on on the floor at school when he put his hand on it. — diagnosis: Partial thickness burn of back of right hand.

12-year-old female complains of burn to hand after using a hot glue gun. — diagnosis: Burn to hand.

Recalls

Recalls of soldering equipment & glue guns

2 since 2010

Dollar Tree Recalls More than One Million Hot Glue Guns Due to Fire and Burn Hazards2022-04-14 · FireSoldering equipment & glue guns

Stained Glass Soldering Irons Recalled By Cooper Tools Due to Burn Hazard2011-04-06 · FireSoldering equipment & glue guns

Questions

How many people are injured by soldering equipment & glue guns each year?

About 1,111 people were treated in US emergency rooms for injuries involving soldering equipment & glue guns in 2025, according to CPSC's NEISS estimates. The average over 2021–2025 was 1,036 a year.

What are the most common injuries from soldering equipment & glue guns?

Thermal burn is the most common diagnosis (56% of cases 2021–2025), and the finger is the most often injured body part (42%).

How often do injuries from soldering equipment & glue guns need hospital admission?

1.5% of ER visits ended with the patient admitted or transferred to another hospital in 2021–2025.

About these numbers

National estimates from the CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), product codes 866, 868, 869. A case is counted if the tool appears in any of its three product fields. Estimates under 1,200 or based on fewer than 20 cases are flagged. Methodology · CSV

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