It's a Carbon Monoxide Time of Year
This was first published as part of my Wholly Healthy series of columns at the SC Baptist Courier. It’s an important reminder.
https://baptistcourier.com/2021/12/wholly-healthy-carbon-monoxide-alert/
This is a time of year when we physicians have to remind ourselves to pay attention and readjust our collective focus. Human illnesses are often quite seasonal, whether that means allergies in the Spring and Autumn, flu and pneumonia in the Winter months or insect bites in the Summer. However, a unique danger arises when the thermostat drops. And that danger is carbon monoxide, a dangerous byproduct of the combustion of burning carbon-based fuel.
While many people have all-electric homes, plenty of others will be heating with natural gas, propane, charcoal, kerosene or wood stoves. All of these make homes cozy on cold days and colder nights. Propane or gasoline fuel generators will be also used more in the cold months and can also serve as another source of carbon monoxide.
Others will start cars and trucks in their closed garages before going out into the cold. However, carbon monoxide easily build up in such a closed space. So unless a vehicle or heating source is well ventilated, the carbon monoxide that is a product of combustion can be very dangerous, not only in the garage but in the rest of the house if garage and house are connected.
Certainly, carbon monoxide poisoning isn’t limited to cold months. It occurs in workshops or other confined spaces where there is something burning but inadequate airflow to move the carbon monoxide from the space. It can happen in Summer, under boats when engines are running. And it can even come from certain solvents, which actually give off carbon monoxide. However, Winter is the time it seems most prominent.
Many homes have carbon monoxide detectors in addition to fire alarms, and this a very good idea. Because carbon monoxide is odorless and as such, a home could be filled with it while its occupants slept and ultimately died.
But what exactly does carbon monoxide poisoning do? Carbon monoxide is a small, colorless, odorless molecule which displaces oxygen from hemoglobin in the blood. In sufficient levels it may cause headache (all too easy for physicians to dismiss without asking the right questions). It can cause weakness, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, dizziness, confusion shortness of breath, unconsciousness and in some cases death. It can affect persons of all ages and is particularly dangerous towards the unborn, young, old and those who are already ill.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are just over 400 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning every year in the US; and about 50,000 non-lethal exposures leading to ER visits.
It can be treated by high flow oxygen and ‘hyperbaric’ oxygen, which means concentrated oxygen under pressure in a chamber, which forces the carbon monoxide off of the hemoglobin, replacing it with oxygen. However, undetected it is extremely dangerous.
I do love a good fire! Just remember that as you stay cozy and warm, make sure that your heating systems are safe, up-to-date and well ventilated. And go ahead and invest in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. It’s a low cost investment with a big payoff in case of fire or carbon monoxide exposure.
https://www.cdc.gov/co/default.htm
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15663-carbon-monoxide-poisoning
As always, a very timely reminder. Thank you!