Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when carbon monoxide builds up in the blood. When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, the body replaces the oxygen in the red blood cells with carbon monoxide. This can lead to serious tissue damage, or even death.
gas cookers and clay ovens. gas or paraffin heaters. wood, gas and coal fires.
How long it takes for carbon monoxide to affect your health depends on many factors. Higher concentrations of the gas can kill you in less than five minutes, while lower concentrations can take several hours. Carbon levels in the home: 50 ppm and below is a low threshold, and most healthy adults don't show symptoms.
Carbon monoxide is a chemical produced from the incomplete burning of natural gas or other products containing carbon. This includes exhaust, faulty heaters, fires, and factory emissions.
Carbon Monoxide Sources in the Home
Water heaters. Furnaces or boilers. Fireplaces, both gas and wood burning. Gas stoves and ovens.
The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. CO symptoms are often described as “flu-like.” If you breathe in a lot of CO it can make you pass out or kill you.
Most people who develop mild carbon monoxide poisoning recover quickly when moved into fresh air.
The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.
The most common causes of carbon monoxide building up are incorrectly installed or poorly maintained or ventilated appliances – like stoves and hot water heaters. Poorly ventilated fireplaces and other gas- or wood-burning appliances can also pose danger.
The symptoms of exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can be similar to those of food poisoning and flu. But unlike flu, carbon monoxide poisoning doesn't cause a high temperature (fever). The symptoms can gradually get worse with long periods of exposure to carbon monoxide, leading to a delay in diagnosis.
Most people with a mild exposure to carbon monoxide experience headaches, fatigue, and nausea. Unfortunately, the symptoms are easily overlooked because they are often flu-like. Medium exposure can cause you to experience a throbbing headache, drowsiness, disorientation, and an accelerated heart rate.
Malfunctioning oil, wood, gas, or coal furnaces. Malfunctioning gas clothes dryer. Wood burning fireplace, gas log burner, or any unvented space heater. Gas or fuel-burning appliances in cabins or campers, barbecue grills, pool or spa heaters, or ceiling-mounted heating units.
It is called the “silent killer” because it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non- irritating. If the early signs of CO poisoning are ignored, a person may lose consciousness and be unable to escape the danger. More people die from carbon monoxide exposure than any other kind of poisoning.
Getting treatment in an oxygen chamber.
This is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It involves breathing pure oxygen in a chamber for a set amount of time. The air pressure in the chamber is 2 to 3 times higher than usual. This helps replace carbon monoxide with oxygen in the blood.
The greatest sources of CO to outdoor air are cars, trucks and other vehicles or machinery that burn fossil fuels. A variety of items in your home such as unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, leaking chimneys and furnaces, and gas stoves also release CO and can affect air quality indoors.
Because it is imperceptible to the human senses, it is virtually impossible to tell if you are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning until you begin showing symptoms, and unfortunately, many individuals aren't even familiar enough with the symptoms to understand that it is time to seek treatment.
As CO levels increase and remain above 70 ppm, symptoms become more noticeable and can include headache, fatigue and nausea. At sustained CO concentrations above 150 to 200 ppm, disorientation, unconsciousness, and death are possible.
Opening windows does not provide enough ventilation to be protective. CO is an invisible, odorless gas that can be fatal. If you breathe in a lot of CO gas, it can make you pass out or kill you. People who are sleeping or drunk can die from CO poisoning before they have symptoms.
Carbon monoxide is a gas that has no odor, color or taste. You wouldn't be able to see or smell it, but it can be very dangerous to your health and even fatal.
The easiest way to see if there is carbon monoxide inside your home is with a carbon monoxide detector (which also includes an alarm). In fact, many building codes require a carbon monoxide gas detector.
The Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems Checklist mobile app inspects Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems using an iPad, iPhone, Android device, or a Windows desktop.
Carbon monoxide is harmful because it binds to hemoglobin in the blood, reducing the ability of blood to carry oxygen. This interferes with oxygen delivery to the body's organs. The most common effects of CO exposure are fatigue, headaches, confusion, and dizziness due to inadequate oxygen delivery to the brain.