Carbon Monoxide Poisoning is a Toxic Silent Killer Gas

Every day, we are all at risk due to this colorless and odorless but toxic silent killer gas that is carbon monoxide. So, in today’s article, we help people understand and avoid carbon poisoning.

What is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon Monoxide or “CO” is a colorless and odorless gas that can be lethal. It is very poisonous once it is in the air and inhaled. Then, your body will replace oxygen in your red blood cells with Carbon Monoxide. It will start to attack your blood, then your tissues, and eventually can cause death. So, you get this through an innocent burning of gasoline, charcoal, propane, and/or wood. Inappropriately ventilated appliances such as clothes dryers, furnaces or broilers, gas stoves, grills, generators, power tools, or wooden stoves may allow carbon monoxide to be collected to a dangerous level.

Did You Know? There are at least 20,000 emergency visits to the hospital for non-fire-related carbon poisoning. And the death toll goes up to at least 400 per year.

Symptoms Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The carbon poisoning starts in the first 2 hours of exposure, although long-term exposure to very low levels of carbon monoxide can even lead to neurological problems, like lack of focus and disorientation that can cause irreversible brain damage.

• Dull Headache
• Loss of Consciousness
• Blurred Vision
• Nausea or Vomiting
• Weakness
• Shortness of Breath

Adverse effects of extended Carbon Monoxide exposure:

• Permanent Brain Damage
• Damage to the heart, and there is a possibility of life threaten cardiac complication

Am I At Risk?

Everyone is at risk of carbon poisoning. Infants, elderly people, people who have a chronic heart condition, and people that have problems with breathing. 

Unborn Babies

Fetus’ blood cells take up CO faster than adults. Unborn babies – are more susceptible to this kind of poisoning.

Exposure to CO can cause severe damage during pregnancy. It dissolves in the plasma that’s inside the fetus’s hemoglobin.

Children

Kids breathe faster and more frequently than adults. 

Carbon monoxide can develop in your children’s bodies and will replace Oxygen in their blood. Your children’s organs such as the brain, heart, and other tissue will take on damage due to a lack of proper oxygen.

Older adults

Older adults are more susceptible to damage to their brains. Seniors are at times can be forgetful and mostly live on their own. We need to set up alarms that can notify us personally or the neighbor. They at times remove their hearing aids that make it impossible to hear the alarm at night. 

People with Chronic Heart Diseases and Anemia

Oxygen deprivation is one of the effects of being exposed to carbon Monoxide.

Normally, our heartbeat depends on the electrical impulse throughout our hearts. But when there is CO, this initially disrupts these impulses leading to your heart beating abnormally.

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Safety Tips Against CO Poisoning

Alert Management

Air Sampling Smoke Detectors are helpful in cases like these. Understanding that carbon monoxide is directly connected to fire hazards, and knowing some fire safety tips will be beneficial. It is best to install alarms that can use battery backup. Also, make sure that your alarm has recognition by a legitimate laboratory.

In the case of alarm systems, should your alarms go off, make sure that you step outside to get fresh air immediately. Never run to your car and/or fuel engines. In case of snow, make sure that your vents, dryer, furnace, and fireplace don’t have snow build-up.

Most generators run on fuel. This is why you should use a generator in a very well-ventilated location like the outdoors. Make sure that maintain your generator properly.

Generator Maintenance Tips

• Run your generator every few months. This ensures it is in good working condition.
• Routinely check the fuels of your generator.
• Check your fuel lines.
• Safely stock oil.
• Replace and clean your filters.
• Check on the spark plugs.

Car Safety Tips Against The Silent Killer Gas

If you need to warm up your car, make sure to do it outside your garage.

Never run your engine inside the house.

Make sure that the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle doesn’t have snow or anything that can cause the smoke to go back inside the vehicle.

Here are a few tips you can follow for car exhaust pipe maintenance:

• a dry towel to clean your pipes from soot or grease outside the muffler.
• Make sure that you dry your muffler completely.
• Make sure that a professional maintain your gas pipes, heating systems, water heater, and any other pipes.
• Never use tape and/or gum to fix a pipe or line issue on your car.
• You should only buy gas-related equipment from legitimate stores that are run by laboratories.

Home Safety Tips Against The Silent Killer Gas

• Do not use the stove oven or gas range as indoor heating if you are in a cabin or camper van.
• If you are indoors, never use a portable gas stove. Although a lot of documents say that it is safe to use inside the house, the risk of propane gas cans leaking is higher than that of a gas pipeline.
• If not certain ask a professional to maintain it.

More Tips

• Do not burn or use charcoal for cooking inside your house.
• If you smell anything bad from your air conditioning or refrigerator, call a professional serviceman to check up on it. The smell can be a strong scent of ammonia, this is a sign that there is a possible leak in your refrigerator. If this is the case, you need to have it fixed right away. 
• You should also make sure that you maintain your chimney or fireplace well. Hire a specialist who has a license to make sure that your fireplace or chimney doesn’t have snow, dried leaves, or grease that can create a blockage that might result from smoke going back inside your house. Click Here to learn more about fireplace maintenance.

Carbon Monoxide Treatment

If you are exposed to CO, the best thing you can do is immediately go out for fresh air, but if you were exposed to your work for a long time, a doctor can place you under pure oxygenation, meaning they will be treating your oxygen level to get rid of any carbon monoxide in your blood cells. They will most likely put a mask over your mouth and nose, to make sure you get your oxygen level higher.

Carbon Poisoning Liabilities

There are a lot of things to consider if people are exposed to CO due to negligence. 

Known as a silent killer gas – Carbon Monoxide is one of the leading causes of accidental poisoning across the United States. Long Exposure may differ in results but is not only specific to fatigue, loss of focus, irregularity in a heartbeat, loss or damage, or death.

If you are a landlord, business owner, or building owner; you have a legal obligation to avert carbon monoxide poisoning. Testing, usage of carbon monoxide alarms, and being compliant with building codes protect your renters from this silent killer gas.

If proven with negligence; people are entitled to be compensated for their injuries.

What Would Merit Negligence?

A property owner can commit dereliction of duty by owning a rental property in several ways. Examples may include but are not limited to:

• Failure to clean the chimney and/or fireplace, causing the smoke to go back inside the house
• Not fixing or failing to maintain and/or broken or faulty water heater.
• Failure to maintain or clean gas ovens or gas ranges
• Not fixing faulty boilers.

Carbon Poisoning Can Be Avoided

The important thing to remember here is that you can avoid a lot of these incidents if you’ll follow the tips properly. And if ever there was an event you or your family was exposed to carbon monoxide, it is better to consult your doctors to get better advice so you and your family can recover faster. But you know what they always say… “Prevention is Better than Cure”

We’re Here to Help

If you are looking for a good independent agent in Denver, CO who is familiar with the policies and coverages you need, give us a chance! Advantage Insurance Solutions is here to help! We can tailor your coverage to your specific needs. We can maximize protection while minimizing cost. Moreover, we can also suggest ways that you can adjust your coverage to take advantage of discounts that insurers give for packaged policies. Call us now!