Outdoor Appliance Safety And Side Effects

The dangers of carbon monoxide are everywhere and while some of us are more aware, other people still do not understand where the dangers can come from, as can be see in the article below. For further help click here.

A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater.

The incident has prompted health officials to warn against using outdoor appliances in enclosed areas.

Western Australia’s chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri said burning fuels or using unflued heaters in non-ventilated areas can cause poisoning, which can lead to serious tissue damage and death.
A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater inside her home (stock image)
A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater inside her home (stock image)
Western Australia’s chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri (pictured) said burning fuels or using unflued heaters in non-ventilated areas can cause poisoning, which can lead to serious tissue damage and death.

‘Somebody who is intoxicated or sleeping can die from carbon monoxide poisoning without ever experiencing symptoms,’ Professor Weeramanthri said, according to Perth Now.

‘Anybody who believes they might be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning should go outside immediately and not return inside until they have recovered completely.

‘Once in the fresh air, recovery is usually fast so if this does not happen it is important to call Health Direct on 1800 022 222 or the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING CASE STUDIES

In January 2011, a Queensland man died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning caused by generator fumes while taking shelter from cyclone Yasi.

In 2009, a 43-year-old Sydney man died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using an outdoor charcoal barbeque inside his home.

During 2006-07, there were 365 public hospital cases for carbon monoxide poisonings recorded in Australia.

In the US around 30 deaths and 450 injuries each year are related to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Source: ACCC

The odourless, colourless and highly poisonous gas is produced by any fuel-burning appliance. Early symptoms include dizziness, nausea and confusion.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause heart disease and brain damage and is often deadly.

Read the full article at the Daily Mail

An interesting new development in further potential side effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. This time with a link to dementia as can be seen in the following article.

A CHARITY said an ‘urgent investigation’ is needed to see if there is a between carbon monoxide poisoning could cause dementia in a bid help protect the elderly and vulnerable people.

Carbon monoxide could be linked to dementia

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas that can be toxic to humans and in large concentrations it is known to be a ‘stealth killer’.

The Gas Safety Trust has discussed carbon monoxide as being one of factors which could be affecting peoples’ cognitive function.

A study, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal has found 30 per cent of patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning may experience the ’onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms’, including dementia.

It is also naturally produced within the body in small quantities, where it plays a number of important roles such as helping to regulate blood pressure.
Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless

In the brain, carbon monoxide acts as a ‘chemical messenger’, helping nerve cells to communicate with each other.

Previous research has shown that people with Alzheimer’s have increased amounts of carbon monoxide in the brain, but it’s unclear whether this increase is a cause of damage or a result of disease processes.

But researchers from the University of Leeds have found that carbon monoxide found naturally in our bodies could help protect against damage from Alzheimer’s proteins.

Although fatal to people in large quantities, the study shows that the small amount of the gas present in our bodies may protect against the effects of the amyloid protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Symptoms of dementia include memory impairment

The research, first published in 2014, was funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society with support from The Henry Smith Charity, and was published in the journal Cell Death and Disease.

The NIHR Clinical Research Network: West Midlands and the Gas Safety Trust held a roundtable discussion in Birmingham on May 25, to consider carbon monoxide poisoning and the elderly and potential areas for research funding.

The meeting looked in particular at carbon monoxide in relation to the impact on peoples’ cognitive function as well as potential links to dementia.

Chaired by Dr Susan Bews, an independent Gas Safety Trust trustee, the event brought together local clinicians and researchers who have ideas for research in the area.

Symptoms of dementia and CO poisoning are similar

Dr Susan Bews, Gas Safety Trust said: “It is clear that there is a lot that we still do not understand about a possible link between carbon monoxide poisoning and dementia.

“We had a lively and stimulating debate which the Gas Safety Trust hopes will lead to concrete, valuable and feasible research proposals.

“Elderly people represent one of the most vulnerable and at risk sections of society.

“With Public Health England projections suggesting that over one million people will have a diagnosis of dementia by 2025, it is clear that this discussion is both timely and urgently needed.

“It was very encouraging to hear the enthusiasm for further research into understanding the risks of low level carbon monoxide for the elderly and particularly the real commitment across a wide range of professionals to work together to reduce the risks for the more vulnerable, for example those with dementia.”

Read more of original publish at express.co.uk

Two great articles once again emphasising how dangerous carbon monoxide is to us and why it is imperative to stay aware and ensure the proper measurements are taken to protect our selves against co poisoning. Learn more about gas safety from here.

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Awareness While Camping

Carbon monoxide detection around the home is something we should all be aware of but we also need to think about CO poisoning when we are on a camping trip. The article below highlights the need for awareness at all times. Most, if not all death from carbon monoxide could have been avoided and this is another one of those cases. The long term effects of poisoning is devasting, check out this link.

VERNONIA, Ore. (KOIN) — Camping season is upon us and one Oregon woman is helping raise awareness about a silent killer that left her partner dead in his RV.

Elana Brasure says her partner Daryl was the family’s rock.

“We met in the 6th grade,” Brasure told KOIN 6 News. “I paid 25 cents to kiss him and we wound up being true love, soulmates. He raised all 4 of my children as his own.”

He was also a big part of his step-grandkids’ lives. He used to take them camping in the same RV he used for a weekend of 4-wheeling with friends at Nicolai Mountain.

“He just never came home,” Brasure said.
Daryl said goodnight to his friends and climbed into the camper on a cold February night during the trip. He cranked on the furnace and went to sleep.

His best friend found him the next morning.

“We’d been in that motor home a zillion times,” Brasure said.

The family didn’t know the tasteless, odorless gas carbon monoxide killed Daryl until receiving the medical examiner’s report. Brasure says she wasn’t aware of carbon monoxide’s fatal risks and that a detector might have saved her partner’s life.

This article was originally published here.

Unfortunately, this is not the only case of carbon monoxide poisoning occuring while camping. There are numerous cases and below is another that resulted in tragedy. This story also mentions the great campaign Say No To CO which helps raise awareness and you can learn more about CO at this RSS Feed.

Loose Women speak to the man who lost his partner in a carbon monoxide camping tragedy
Tragedy struck campers Roland Wessling and Hazel Woodhams who lost her life due to CO poisoning inside her tent
Forensic scientist Roland Wessling appeared on Loose Women to warn about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning after his partner, Hazel Woodhams, tragically lost her life.

He expressed his support for the show’s carbon monoxide awareness campaign Say No To CO.

Roland told of his camping trip to Great Yarmouth with Hazel and how after they had finished with their coal barbecue and let it go cold that it was perfectly safe to bring into the tent to keep it dry.

But unfortunately the carbon monoxide from the barbecue inside the tent caused Hazel’s death.
Roland said of the tragic accident: “How I survived is completely unknown. Yeah a miracle to be honest… No medical person could understand how I survived this and Hazel didn’t, especially because Hazel was probably dead within 5-10 minutes.”

He described how he woke up dazed and sick: “It took me a very long time to regain consciousness properly and as soon as I was conscious enough to understand there was something seriously wrong.

“I turned around and I was only lying half inside my sleeping bag and I must have tried to get out at some point in the night but I’ve got no recollection and Hazel was just an arm length away from me and she was dead.”

Read the full story here…
Carbon monoxide is lethal and we will only stop these deaths through awareness. Taking a carbon monoxide alarm on camping trips is a great idea and will alert when there is a danger and will help to save lives, a lot of information can be read here.

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CO Facts And Advice

The following article has some great advice about carbon monoxide and some facts everyone should know. This is aimed at student but I think it is an article everyone can benefit from. You can learn more about carbon monoxide from our about.me page.

What is Carbon Monoxide and how dangerous is it? As part of The National Student’s Advice Week, npower brings you the facts.

What is Carbon Monoxide – and what are its dangers?

1. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a gas – it can be very dangerous to your health and can be fatal. It is sometimes referred to as the silent killer because it has no smell, taste or colour, which makes it difficult to detect.

2. CO is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal or wood do not burn fully.

3. When you breath in CO, it enters your bloodstream and mixes with haemoglobin (the part of red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body), to form carboxyhaemoglobin. This stops your blood from being able to carry oxygen which causes the body’s cells and tissue to die.

4.Every year in the UK around 200 people are admitted to hospital with suspected CO poisoning, leading to around 40 deaths.

5. Around 10-15% of people who suffer from severe or life-threatening CO poisoning develop long-term complications, such as damage to the brain or the heart.

How do you know if you’re suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning?

6. Initial symptoms of CO poisoning can be similar to flu, but without a fever and sometimes, can be confused with food poisoning.

7. The most common symptoms include: dizziness, headaches, nausea and vomiting, tiredness and confusion, stomach pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

What causes Carbon Monoxide to leak?

8. The most common causes are incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated household appliances like fires (if the chimney or flue is blocked), cookers, heaters and central heating boilers.

Who is most at risk?

9. ‘High risk’ groups include the elderly, children, pregnant women and people with respiratory problems or chronic heart disease.

10. It is now a legal requirement for private landlords to fit a CO alarm in rooms used as living accommodation which also contain an appliance that burns, or is capable of burning solid fuel. Although there is no requirement to fit one near a gas boiler, it is still advisable as best practice.

How can you protect yourself from Carbon Monoxide poisoning in the home?

11. Install a Carbon Monoxide alarm near appliances that are capable of producing CO.

12. Look out for other tell-tale signs like:

13. Black, sooty marks on the front covers of gas fires, or sooty marks on the walls near boilers, stoves or fires

14. Smoke building up in rooms because of a faulty flue or blocked chimney

15. Gas appliances producing yellow flames instead of blue ones

16. Ensure all appliances are installed and regularly serviced by registered engineers.

17. If you have a chimney, make sure it is swept regularly by a qualified sweep.

Read more at the original article here.

These are all great facts about carbon monoxide and contain some great tips that we should all be on the look out for. The obvious thing to do is install a carbon monoxide alarm and make sure our fuel burning appliances are properly serviced yearly by a professional.

Of course, even without a carbon monoxide detector, some people can get lucky by speaking to the right person, see below.

NHS call handler saved my life after I was poisoned by carbon monoxide
An actress has told how how a quick-thinking NHS call handler saved her life after alerting emergency services to a carbon monoxide leak in her home.

Jaynie Powsney, 29, called the NHS 111 line after experiencing dizzy spells, headaches, diarrhoea and a stomach ache for around a month.

And after suspecting her symptoms were due to the poisonous gas, dubbed the ‘silent killer’, the call handler dispatched an ambulance, fire crews, the National Grid and environmental protection to her home off Argyle Street, Heywood .

Jaynie said: “A fire engine arrived and we were told there were three more on the way.

“It was frightening. I felt silly at the time because I thought it was a tummy bug.

“The paramedics were certain it was carbon monoxide poisoning.

“They wanted to take me to hospital, but because we’d had the windows open some of the carbon monoxide in my system had passed.

Further reading where first published.

This person had a very lucky escape and luckily the call handler recognised some of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning but some people do not get so lucky. Further news stories at this carbon monoxide news feed.

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The Silent Killer

On Tuesday the funeral will be held of a man who died from CO poisoning. This deadly gas can strike at any time causing many health problems and as you can see from the article below, unfortunate deaths.

THE funeral will take place on Tuesday of a man who died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at his home in Co Down.

Grandfather-of-two William Stockdale (60) was found dead at his house on the Castlewellan Road in Newcastle on Friday evening.

A post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death has been carried out, but the results are not yet known.

The death comes just over a year since a married couple in their seventies, Francis and Nan O’Reilly, were found dead in their caravan on the Tullybrannigan Road in Newcastle.

Mr Stockdale, who came from a farming background, was a long-term resident of Newcastle.

Four ambulance crews attended the scene on Friday night, with three other people in the property and two paramedics also treated in the Ulster Hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. They were later discharged.

It is understood Mr Stockdale had been recovering at home after having stents inserted in his heart, and had initially believed the chest pain and discomfort he was experiencing was due to the operation.

John McPoland, from the Ambulance Service, described the actions of paramedics at Mr Stockdale’s home as “unbelievable”.

He said: “They undoubtedly saved the lives of themselves and three other people. More remarkable than all that, after they were discharged from hospital they reported back to the station to fulfil the rest of their duties.”

Read more of this news article from the original publication.

These reports are a regular occurance throughout this country with many more around the world. Carbon monoxide needs to be understood be everyone, so let us learn more about this silent killer.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas with nearly the same molar mass as air (CO is 3% lighter on average). This means that CO doesn’t rise or fall, but disperses evenly into the air of an enclosed space. That’s why detectors can be placed low on a wall at an outlet, or high up on a ceiling. The gas is toxic to humans at concentrations above 35 Parts Per Millions (PPM). Because of this, carbon monoxide has been dubbed the silent killer. We’ve all heard not to use a kitchen stove as a heating appliance, or not to run a generator inside the house. The reason is carbon monoxide.

The American Center for Disease Control has stated that unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning accounts for over 20,000 emergency room visits each year, including over 400 deaths. Carbon monoxide poisoning starts with a headache. It progresses to dizziness, nausea, and general flu-like symptoms. Most people think they’re just coming down with the flu, and head to bed. This is often a fatal mistake.
Biology
Carboxyhemoglobin molecule, by Rifleman 82 via Wikipedia
Carboxyhemoglobin molecule, by Rifleman 82 via Wikipedia

Carbon monoxide can always be found in small amounts in the human body. The molecule is known to have some therapeutic anti-inflammatory effects in humans. At higher concentrations though, CO becomes incredibly toxic. The most frightening part about carbon monoxide poisoning is the method in which it operates. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells which carries oxygen. Hemoglobin loads up with oxygen in the lungs, becoming oxyhemoglobin. The circulatory system then carries this oxyhemoglobin throughout the body, where it delivers its payload to muscles and organs. Carbon monoxide also bonds to hemoglobin, creating carboxyhemoglobin. In fact, the bond is over 200 times stronger than oxygen. This means carboxyhemoglobin doesn’t separate so easily. The carboxyhemoglobin essentially becomes an inert molecule riding through the circulatory system, starving the organs of oxygen.

This is where things get nasty.

Everyone knows that the treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is to get to fresh air. However, it won’t immediately remove carboxyhemoglobin from the blood. That takes time. Carboxyhemoglobin has a half-life of 4 to 6 hours. There is a way to speed things up though. Administering pure oxygen to a victim can reduce the half-life down to less than an hour.

In extreme cases, hyperbaric oxygen treatments are used. The victim is placed into a pure oxygen chamber pressurized to three atmospheres. This forces oxygen to diffuse into the blood plasma, where it is carried to starved tissues.
neuron
Structure of a neuron, by Quasar Jarosz via Wikipedia

For acute poisoning patients, surviving the initial episode doesn’t mean the worst is over. Many patients begin to make a recovery, but between 2 and 40 days later, things change. The patients rapidly show signs of further brain damage. Balance, memory, and cognitive functions all affected. This phenomenon is called delayed neuropsychologic sequelae, and it was devastating for Molly Weber. The mechanism of neuropsychologic sequelae is still not completely understood. Research has shown that carbon monoxide damages Myelin Basic Protein (MBP), the material which surrounds nerve cells. The damaged MBP triggers the body’s immune system. White blood cells called leukocytes attack and remove the damaged MBP. The leukocytes don’t stop there though. They begin to attack healthy MBP, destroying healthy brain tissue. The result of this biological one-two punch leaves permanent brain injuries that can take years to recover – if recovery is possible at all.

In researching this article I was reminded how little we know about the brain, how it can be injured and how it recovers from those injuries. If there is one place where bio-hackers can really make a huge difference, it’s in studying and trying to understand how all this works.
Environment

Carbon monoxide is created by several different methods. Volcanoes and other geological sources release carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, as do forest fires. The major contributor though is man. Satellites such as NASA’s Terra spacecraft keep an eye on carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. Streaks are often found over cities and where crop residue and forests are being burned.

The chief way CO is created is through incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels. If there isn’t enough oxygen present to oxidize a fuel to CO2, CO is the result. Internal combustion engines produce huge amounts of carbon monoxide. A properly tuned gasoline engine can produce as much as 30,000 ppm CO. In the United States, gasoline and diesel vehicles produced after 1975 have catalytic converters which greatly reduce CO emissions. However, not all vehicles are well maintained. Every year deaths are reported from people sitting in idling cars with faulty exhaust systems.

Small engines such as generators and power washers don’t tend to have catalytic converters, yet they still produce large amounts of carbon monoxide. Generators running inside homes kill families every year. Even running a power washer in a semi-enclosed space such as a parking garage is enough for the gas to build up to dangerous levels.

In the home, most carbon monoxide poisoning events happen due to problems with gas-fired appliances. A properly tuned water heater, boiler, or furnace will create some CO. If the air band isn’t correctly adjusted, CO levels rise. If the exhaust becomes blocked or compromised, the CO will find its way into the living spaces. Just in the last week, a home in Oklahoma filled with CO when roofers blocked the water heater exhaust stack. Thankfully, the family had a carbon monoxide detector in their home, and nobody was injured.

Read more from the original source
Carbon monoxide injuries and deaths can be avoided with a carbon monoxide alarm fitted into the home or work areas. They will alert before the gas levels become too dangerous and while deaths and injuries continue to occur, we must all continue to spread the word about what it can do. Knowledge is the key and with knowledge, everyone is more likely to get some kind of alerting device. You can learn more about carbon monoxide here.

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