Tarrytown, NY – Each year, the Life Support Technologies group (LST)
provides hyperbaric medical care to individuals, families and firefighters who
have been admitted to LST partner hospitals for treatment of carbon monoxide (CO)
poisoning. Carbon monoxide is an
odorless, tasteless, highly poisonous gas that may overcome unsuspecting individuals
or entire families while they sleep. When
inhaled, CO bonds 230 times more readily than oxygen does with the blood’s
hemoglobin and prevents the hemoglobin from transporting oxygen. When not fatal, CO can cause serious loss of
cognitive function if not detected early and properly treated. The good news is that CO poisoning can be
avoided with a little knowledge and some planning. It can also be treated; best results are
obtained when medical treatment occurs promptly after the on-set of CO poisoning.
Symptoms of CO poisoning include: dull headache, weakness, dizziness,
nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, confusion, blurred vision, and loss of
consciousness. CO poisoning symptoms may
be misdiagnosed as flu, food poisoning or a host of other maladies. According to data released by the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), there was an annual average of 5,000 cases of non-fire
related CO poisoning in the United States from 2001 through 2003.
Carbon Monoxide is emitted by car and truck engines, furnaces,
fuel-burning space heaters, charcoal grills, cooking ranges, water heaters,
fireplaces, portable generators, and wood-burning stoves. Smoke inhalation during a fire is also a
common cause of carbon monoxide poisoning.
A spike in carbon monoxide poisonings is typically experienced during
the Fall and Winter seasons in cold areas.
Preventing CO poisoning is relatively easy: maintain your appliances
and engines in good working condition, and do not operate charcoal grills,
fuel-burning space heaters, portable generators, car or truck engines in
confined spaces. It is also advisable to
install a carbon monoxide detector near the sleeping area, but away from
appliances or humid areas, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC).
In the event that you or a loved one suspect carbon monoxide poisoning,
it is critical to get to the hospital immediately. If CO poisoning is diagnosed, the standard of
care in treatment is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
HBOT involves the patient breathing 100% oxygen while they are under
increased atmospheric pressure inside a hyperbaric chamber. Usually, multiple
HBOT treatments are required to completely break the carbon monoxide-hemoglobin
bond so that the victim’s blood can again properly transport life-sustaining
oxygen.
About the Life Support Technologies Group (LST)
The Life Support Technologies Group (LST) is a Tarrytown,
NY-based medical and life-support engineering company specializing in Advanced
Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Services to hospitals in the NY, NJ, CT region. LST has been in business for 20 years and
currently provides services to 9 hospitals.
Glenn
Butler, CEO
Life
Support Technologies Group
(914)
333-8412
