If the blood supply is restricted, it can cause angina chest pains. If the coronary arteries become completely blocked, it can cause a heart attack. It's important to be aware of the dangers and identify any appliances in your house that could potentially leak carbon monoxide. Boilers, cookers, heating systems and appliances should be installed and regularly serviced by a reputable, registered engineer.
Anyone carrying out work on installations and appliances in your home must be registered with a relevant association, such as the:. It's very important to be aware of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and to look out for warning signs.
Investigate the possibility of a carbon monoxide leak if your pet suddenly becomes ill or dies unexpectedly and their death is not related to old age or an existing health condition. Page last reviewed: 10 April Next review due: 10 April Carbon monoxide poisoning. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are not always obvious, particularly during low-level exposure.
Other symptoms include: dizziness feeling and being sick tiredness and confusion stomach pain shortness of breath and difficulty breathing 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 does not cause a high temperature.
Your symptoms may be less severe when you're away from the source of the carbon monoxide. This can happen within 2 hours if there's a lot of carbon monoxide in the air. Long-term exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can also lead to neurological symptoms, such as: difficulty thinking or concentrating frequent emotional changes — for example, becoming easily irritated, depressed, or making impulsive or irrational decisions Breathing in high levels of carbon monoxide gas can cause more severe symptoms.
These may include: impaired mental state and personality changes intoxication the feeling that you or the environment around you is spinning vertigo loss of physical co-ordination caused by underlying damage to the brain and nervous system ataxia breathlessness and a heart rate of more than beats per minute tachycardia chest pain caused by angina or a heart attack an uncontrollable burst of electrical activity in the brain that causes muscle spasms seizures loss of consciousness — in cases where there are very high levels of carbon monoxide, death may occur within minutes What causes carbon monoxide to leak?
Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal and wood do not burn fully. Burning charcoal, running cars and the smoke from cigarettes also produce carbon monoxide gas. Gas, oil, coal and wood are sources of fuel used in many household appliances, including: boilers gas fires central heating systems water heaters cookers open fires Incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated household appliances, such as cookers, heaters and central heating boilers, are the most common causes of accidental exposure to carbon monoxide.
Other possible causes of carbon monoxide poisoning include: blocked flues and chimneys — this can stop carbon monoxide escaping, allowing it to reach dangerous levels burning fuel in an enclosed or unventilated space — for example, running a car engine, petrol-powered generator or barbecue inside a garage, or a faulty boiler in an enclosed kitchen faulty or blocked car exhausts — a leak or blockage in the exhaust pipe, such as after heavy snowfall, could lead to a build-up of carbon monoxide paint fumes — some cleaning fluids and paint removers contain methylene chloride dichloromethane ; this substance is broken down by the body into carbon monoxide smoking shisha pipes indoors — shisha pipes burn charcoal and tobacco, which can lead to a build-up of carbon monoxide in enclosed or unventilated rooms Treating carbon monoxide poisoning Seek medical advice from your GP if you think you have been exposed to low levels of carbon monoxide.
Your house will also need to be checked for safety before anyone returns. Standard oxygen therapy Standard oxygen therapy in hospital will be needed if you have been exposed to a high level of carbon monoxide, or you have symptoms that suggest exposure.
Breathing in concentrated oxygen enables your body to quickly replace carboxyhaemoglobin. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy Hyperbaric oxygen therapy HBOT floods the body with pure oxygen, helping it overcome the oxygen shortage caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Standard oxygen therapy is usually the recommended treatment option. Recovery The length of time it takes to recover from carbon monoxide poisoning will depend on how much carbon monoxide you have been exposed to and how long you have been exposed to it.
Complications of carbon monoxide poisoning Prolonged significant exposure to carbon monoxide can cause serious complications, including brain damage and heart problems. In a typical year, nearly Americans die from carbon monoxide poisoning, usually in their own home or car. Many of those deaths happen during the winter months, when people are heating their homes and reducing the amount of outside ventilation.
Your furnace, water heater, stove, space heaters, fireplace, woodstove, charcoal grill, and dryer can be sources of CO, especially if they are not in good working condition or have been installed without proper ventilation. Using kerosene heaters or charcoal grills indoors, or running a car in a garage can cause CO levels to rise high enough to result in death or serious illness.
Unlike natural gas or LP gas, which have a characteristic odor added to them to alert you, carbon monoxide has no fumes and no color. We breathe in CO like normal air with no irritation to our nose or throats.
Then, our blood cells attach with CO molecules instead of oxygen molecules, starving our organs from the oxygen they need. The best way to alert you and your family to unsafe levels of CO is to install a carbon monoxide detector.
It works like a smoke alarm, sampling the air in your home and creating a loud alarm when levels of the gas are detected. 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.
Extreme exposure usually leads to unconsciousness, convulsions, cardiorespiratory failure, coma, and eventually death. Too often, death from CO poisoning results with the victim simply falling asleep and never regaining consciousness. 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 call or 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:. 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 co-workers 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.
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 behaviour that occur in the weeks after treatment.
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. Safe use of fuel-burning tools and appliances. Author: Healthwise Staff.
Medical Review: Anne C. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.
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