Carbon monoxide poisoning is a dangerous and sometimes deadly poisoning that can be prevented. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that you can’t see or taste. It comes from cars with poor exhaust systems, furnaces, burning fireplaces and wood stoves. You might not know you have carbon monoxide in your home if the levels are not high enough to make you feel ill when it’s fairly low outside and the windows are closed during cold weather months. But for some people who have heart disease or other conditions, carbon monoxide exposure indoors may cause illness sooner than expected.

Common Symptoms

Be on the look-out for symptoms, which include: nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and headache; confusion when standing up; dizziness and blurred vision; a feeling like you’re drunk or hungover when you’re not ; and fast breathing, slow heart rate, loss of consciousness or death.

Do You Suspect CO Poisoning?

If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, get out of the contaminated area immediately. Do not go back for personal belongings. Call 911 or your local emergency response system if there is a fire, police and emergency medical services if there is no fire, or the gas company if you think a pipe might have leaked gas inside your home.

Treatment

Immediate Poisoning (or high exposure): Get the victim outside, call 9-1-1, and start CPR. If possible the person should be taken immediately to a hospital. The first step in treatment is to clear any carbon monoxide from their system.

Keeping Your Home Safe

Carbon monoxide detectors are the most important safety precaution in preventing poisoning in your home. These devices alert you to high levels of carbon monoxide, which can occur without warning and kill within minutes. You should place a carbon monoxide detector beside every sleeping area in your home, including every room used for sleeping, and on every level.

Be sure to check the detector every month to make sure that it is working properly. Replace any detectors that are more than 7 years old. If you rent your home or apartment, ask the landlord about the type of detectors required by law in your area. Don’t let anyone disable or tamper with your detector while it’s still in your home.

See A Doctor If You Suspect Anything

Get checked by a doctor as soon as possible. In more serious cases of poisoning, your health care provider may need to put in a tube that connects to your airways so that they can remove the gas from inside of your lungs. This procedure is called mechanical ventilation.

When people are poisoned by carbon monoxide, they can sometimes suffer brain damage even after the gas levels in the air return to normal. If you think that you or someone you know has been exposed to too much carbon monoxide, don’t wait to see if symptoms develop before getting medical attention.

There have been incidents of poisoning in which victims developed permanent brain damage and memory problems even though they didn’t start feeling sick for several hours after exposure.