496,100 handrail risers were urgently recalled, causing 2 deaths!

Recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ( CPSC ) announced the recall of four models of bedside armrests from Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare.

This type of product is mainly used in conjunction with a bed. Users can insert the armrest lifter under the mattress to facilitate bedridden people with limited mobility, such as the elderly, to get in and out of bed.

Searching for "Bed Assist Handles" on Amazon's US site , 191 results pop up; searching for "Bed Assist Rail" returns 150 results.

Google Trends shows that over the past five years, the search trend for "Bed Assist Rail" in the United States has been relatively stable, but not very popular.

Based on the search results on Amazon and Google Trends, bedside armrests are non-seasonal products and are not a hot product.

However, this does not mean that there is no market space for it. The U.S. Administration on Aging ( AoA) pointed out in its 2020 Overview of Older Americans report that in the United States , the population aged 65 and above was 54.1 million in 2019 , accounting for 16% of the total population , which is more than one in seven Americans . By 2024, this proportion is expected to reach 21.6%.

As the number of elderly people grows, their demand for products such as bedside handrails, adult diapers, and crutches will also increase. But it should be noted that "rejuvenation" does not only mean that some elderly people's mentality will become childish, but also means that their bodies become fragile and need more care.

The reason for this recall is that when connected to the bed, the user may be trapped between the armrest and the side of the mattress. This poses a serious entrapment hazard and the risk of death from suffocation. This reason for recall usually occurs in infant products. In fact, when manufacturing products that serve the elderly, it is also necessary to pay attention to this anti-entrapment and suffocation issue.

It is understood that between October 2007 and December 2021, Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare sold approximately 496,100 armrest lifts on Amazon and Walmart for prices ranging from $30 to $80.

Sadly, Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare has received two reports of fatalities related to handrail entrapment, one in February 2011 and the other in February 2015, involving a 93-year-old woman in California and a 92-year-old man in an assisted living facility in Canada.

The editor searched for other brands of bedside armrests on Amazon US and found that many users also mentioned this problem, that is, the armrests may get stuck in the head or limbs.

For the elderly, there is a need for a device to help them get up from bed. But how to improve and upgrade it may require the sellers to use their own little universe.

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Handrail lifter