Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas. It is produced by the incomplete combustion of various fuel burning appliances, equipment and automobiles. Heat generating sources, such as natural gas, oil, kerosene, coal, wood and gasoline, emit carbon monoxide.
What makes carbon monoxide incredibly dangerous is that your red blood cells will pick it up more readily than oxygen. So if you are in an environment where the air you breath is saturated with carbon monoxide, the oxygen level in your body that is required to sustain life becomes seriously diminished. This lack of oxygen condition has the potential to result in sudden death.
The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are:
Additional signs of this poisoning include:
Because carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms are identical to other illness causes, a carbon monoxide detector is a “must have” in enclosed environments wherein fumes of combustion are being emitted. Fuel burning heating systems and heat producing stoves that are commonly used in the winter to warm homes are prime examples of these potentially poisonous environments.
Relying on your body’s signaling, via headache, dizziness and nausea, that the air you are breathing contains a dangerous level of carbon monoxide may be a heart beat too late. Get a detector!