Each cold weather season and during each major power
outage, the Life Support Technologies group (LST) sees a spike in Carbon
Monoxide (CO) poisoning victims at its northeastern U.S. hospital-based hyperbaric
medicine facilities. Potentially fatal
carbon monoxide poisoning can be avoided with a little knowledge and some
planning: maintain 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.
The spike in CO cases during the first cold weather
spells can usually be traced to improperly serviced heating system, according
to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The CPSC advises having heating units serviced before cold weather sets
in. Spikes in CO cases resulting from winter
storms and power outages is attributed to the increased use of gas-powered
emergency electrical generators, the use of fuel-burning space heaters in enclosed
areas, and even people who try and seek shelter in their running vehicles.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, highly
poisonous gas emitted by car and truck engines, furnaces, fuel-burning space
heaters, charcoal grills, cooking ranges, water heaters, fireplaces, portable
generators, wood-burning stoves, and smoke. When inhaled, CO bonds 230 times
more readily with the blood’s hemoglobin than oxygen; CO prevents hemoglobin
from transporting oxygen. When not
fatal, CO can cause serious loss of cognitive function if not detected early
and properly treated.
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.
It is advisable to install a carbon monoxide detector
near the sleeping area, but away from appliances or humid areas, according to
the CPSC.
When CO poisoning is diagnosed, the standard of care 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.
Carbon Monoxide can overcome unsuspecting individuals or
entire families while they sleep. The best treatment results are obtained when
medical treatment occurs promptly after the onset of CO poisoning.
In the event that carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected,
it is crucial that victims immediately get away from the source of the carbon
monoxide. This may entail evacuating
family and occupants from inside a house.
Everyone who has been exposed -- or potentially exposed -- to carbon
monoxide must then be taken promptly to a hospital for evaluation. While waiting for transportation to the
hospital and while being transported, persons suspected of having been exposed
to carbon monoxide should breathe 100% medical grade oxygen.
For more information see:
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
For more information about the Life
Support Technologies group, see:
Glenn Butler, CEO
Life
Support Technologies group
580
White Plains Road
Suite
110
Tarrytown,
NY 10591
Phone: (914) 333-8412
