Carbon Monoxide: the silent cold-weather killer

Each year, nearly 5,000 people in the United States are treated in hospital emergency rooms for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

This number is, however, believed to be an underestimate of those poisoned because many people exhibiting the symptoms of CO poisoning mistake these symptoms for the flu or are misdiagnosed.

CO is a colorless, odorless, toxic gas. It is produced by the incomplete combustion of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels.

Appliances fueled with gas, oil, kerosene, or wood may produce CO. If such appliances are not installed, maintained, and used properly, CO may accumulate to dangerous and even fatal levels in poorly ventilated areas.

CO poisoning can kill without warning. Because CO gas has no odor-warning properties even at toxic or life threatening levels, it is considered a silent killer.

And, since so many deaths occur as the result of defective or poorly operated home heating devices, CO has been termed the “silent cold-weather killer.”

CO is produced by products that burn fuels. Therefore, any fuel-burning appliance in a home is a potential CO source.

Electrical heaters and electric water heaters, toasters, et cetera, do not produce CO because they don’t involve combustion of fuels.

Under normal circumstances, CO levels in the typical home or workplace should not be above levels found outdoors.

When appliances are kept in good working condition and are properly vented, they produce little CO.

Improper installation, operation, or poorly vented appliances can produce elevated – or even fatal – CO concentrations in a home.

Likewise, using kerosene heaters or charcoal grills indoors or running a car in a garage can cause levels high enough to result in CO poisoning.

Common sources of CO include the following:

• Room heaters (not radiant or electric)

• Furnaces

• Charcoal grills

• Cooking ranges (not electric)

• Water heaters (not electric)

• Automobiles run in closed garages

• Fireplaces

• Portable generators

• Wood-burning stoves

Any person or animal in a space shared with a device capable of generating CO should be considered at risk of CO poisoning.

CO exposures especially affect unborn babies, infants, and people with anemia or a history of heart disease.

Breathing low levels of the chemical can cause fatigue and increase chest pain in people with chronic heart disease.

Although not always experienced, the initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu, but without the fever. They include:

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Headache

• Nausea

• Irregular breathing

It is critical to note that death from CO poisoning can occur quickly or when sleeping, with some or all of these symptoms never being experienced, in which case, the overexposed victim becomes unconscious and never regains consciousness.

Dangerous levels of CO can be prevented by proper appliance installation, maintenance, and use.

Periodic inspections of potentially CO-producing equipment, and the use of CO alarms, are also key to avoiding a CO fatality.