Carbon monoxide is a gas that has no color, smell, or taste. You can't tell if you're breathing it. Your child can be poisoned from breathing air that has too much of the gas.
Many things can cause dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. These include:
Carbon monoxide replaces the oxygen in the blood. Since the body's organs and tissues depend on oxygen, they can't work as they should.
Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless, invisible gas that can build up in enclosed areas where fuels such as natural gas, gasoline, fuel oil, or wood are burned. When a person inhales carbon monoxide, it begins to replace the oxygen that is normally carried in the blood, which leads to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fuels that produce carbon monoxide are burned in indoor heating systems, car engines, boat motors, cooking appliances, wood fires, and other places. Dangerous levels of carbon monoxide can build up in semi-enclosed or even open areas, including swim areas behind boats.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause headaches, dizziness, or nausea. If the exposure to carbon monoxide continues, a person may lose consciousness and even die. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be hard to identify. The symptoms can also be caused by several other illnesses.
Treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning involves bringing blood oxygen levels back to normal. It is important that an affected person be removed from the area where carbon monoxide may be present and begin oxygen therapy if needed.
Early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:
As carbon monoxide builds up in your blood, symptoms get worse and may include:
If you have symptoms that you think could be caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, leave the area right away, and call911or go to the emergency room. If you keep breathing the fumes, you may pass out and die.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur suddenly or over a long period of time. Breathing low levels of carbon monoxide over a long period can cause severe heart problems and brain damage. See a doctor if:
The best treatment is oxygen therapy. Breathing pure oxygen can bring the oxygen level in the blood back to normal. There are two kinds of oxygen therapy:
With quick treatment, most people recover within a few days. But long-term problems can show up later. Be sure to tell your doctor about any changes in vision, coordination, or behavior that occur in the weeks after treatment.
The purpose of oxygen therapy for the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning is to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood and restore the oxygen level to normal as quickly as possible.
For hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the affected person lies down on a stretcher. The stretcher slides into an acrylic tube about 7 ft (2.1 m) long and 25 in. (64 cm) across. The pressure inside the tube is raised, and 100% oxygen is delivered under high pressure. Each treatment session lasts about 90 minutes. After treatment, the chamber is depressurized slowly while the person rests inside.
It is not clear if HBOT works better than oxygen therapy at normal pressure to reduce the risk of cognitive problems, such as lasting damage to memory, attention, and concentration.
Many people die every year from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. There are some easy steps you can take to reduce your risk. One of the most important is to see a doctor right away if you think you have symptoms.
It can be hard to know if you have carbon monoxide poisoning. The same symptoms can be caused by flu or other problems. In the winter months, doctors may suspect carbon monoxide poisoning in people who complain of severe headache, nausea, or dizziness. This is especially true if other household members or coworkers have the same symptoms. Even pets in the home may get sick.
If your doctor suspects carbon monoxide poisoning, he or she can order a blood test that measures the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood. You may have other blood tests to check your overall health and to look for problems caused by carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide can come from any source that burns fuel. Common sources are cars, fireplaces, powerboats, wood stoves, kerosene space heaters, charcoal grills, and gas appliances such as water heaters, ovens, and dryers. Usually they cause no problems. Trouble comes when:
Carbon monoxide poisoning happens when you breathe too much carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a gas produced by burning any type of fuel—gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal. What makes this gas so dangerous is that when you breathe it, it replaces the oxygen in your blood. Without oxygen, cells throughout the body die, and the organs stop working.
You can't see, smell, or taste carbon monoxide. But if you breathe too much of it, it can become deadly within minutes. So be sure you know the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, what to do if you have the symptoms, and how to keep it from happening.
Call 911 anytime you think you may need emergency care. For example, call if:
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
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