Emory Crawford Long Hyperbaric Specialist Shares Safety Tips to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Homes

Emory University
Wednesday, 12 November 2003

Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that claims about 200 lives in the United States each year, and injures 5,000. Without warning, a home can become a deadly hazard, killing within minutes.

According to Emory Crawford Long hyperbaric medicine specialist Dan Beless, MD, there are simple and effective ways to detect and prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

"It's important to note that carbon monoxide poisoning can happen to anyone, but there are simple steps to detecting and preventing it. I would advise everyone to keep a carbon monoxide detector in their home." Beless says these detectors should be placed at lower levels within a room, not up high where smoke detectors are placed. "Since carbon monoxide is a gas that is heavier than air, higher levels are found closer to the ground."

Although detecting carbon monoxide is important, Beless stresses prevention is the key. "You don't want to get to the point where the detector is alarming you of danger.

"Most of the cases I treat are potentially preventable," notes Beless. Common causes of carbon monoxide poisoning that he has seen include the improper use of charcoal grills, using gas generators within an enclosed space, and improper ventilation of heaters in homes. "Last year, we treated several people at Crawford Long Hospital who were using charcoal grills to heat their homes. We saw this mostly with Hispanic families who recently moved from warmer climates and were not accustomed to the cold weather."

According to Beless, these simple steps are key to preventing dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in homes:

• Don't idle the car in a garage - even if the garage door to the outside is open. Fumes can build up very quickly in the garage and living area of your home.
• Don't use a gas oven to heat your home, even for a short time.
• Don't ever use a charcoal grill indoors -- even in a fireplace.
• Don't sleep in any room with an unvented gas or kerosene space heater. Read and follow all instructions that accompany any fuel-burning device. If you cannot avoid using an unvented gas or kerosene space heater, carefully follow the cautions that come with the device. Use the proper fuel and keep doors to the rest of the house open. Crack a window to ensure enough air for ventilation and proper fuel burning.
• Don't use any gasoline-powered engines (mowers, weed trimmers, snow blowers, chain saws, pressure washers, small engines or generators) in enclosed spaces.
• Don't ignore symptoms, particularly if more than one person is feeling them.
• Have your fuel-burning appliances -- including oil and gas furnaces, gas water heaters, gas ranges and ovens, gas dryers, gas or kerosene space heaters, fireplaces, and wood stoves -- inspected by a trained professional at the beginning of every heating season. Make certain that the flues and chimneys are connected, in good condition, and not blocked.
• Choose appliances that vent their fumes to the outside whenever possible, have them properly installed, and maintain them according to manufacturers' instructions.

Recognizing the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning is equally important. At moderate levels it can cause severe headaches, dizziness, mental confusion, nausea, fainting and death. Low levels can cause shortness of breath, mild nausea, and mild headaches, and may have longer-term effects. Since many of these symptoms are similar to those of the flu, food poisoning, or other illnesses, carbon monoxide poisoning often goes undiagnosed until the symptoms persist for dangerous amounts of time.

According to Beless, if you think you are exposed and are experiencing the symptoms, get fresh air immediately. "Open doors and windows, turn off appliances and leave your house. Go to an emergency room and tell the physician you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning." Patients with severe poisonings may undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy at a facility such at Crawford Long Hospital.

"People identified as suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning will be given pure oxygen to breathe to speed the excretion of carbon monoxide from the blood. However, the damage may continue for some time. A specialized form of treatment called Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) can be used to significantly improve the chances of survival and reduce the risk of further damage to the body," notes Beless.

HBOT works by elevating the amount of oxygen in the body to more than twenty times normal levels using a hyperbaric (higher than atmospheric pressure) chamber.

For more information, or to contact Emory University, see their website at: whsc.emory.edu