after discovering that the pilot light on the stove was out... makes us think that we were both extremely lucky.
carbon monoxide poisoning
By Eileen McLaughlin, RN, BSN
Carbon monoxide, also called CO, is an odorless, tasteless, colorless, and poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a life-threatening condition caused by inhaling too much CO.
What is going on in the body?
Carbon monoxide is produced when a fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, charcoal, or wood, is burned. CO may be found in a number of items that are used by people every day, for example: · cellars · cigarette smoking, or breathing in second hand smoke · faulty gas stoves or heating systems without good ventilation · fires · industrial plants · leaking exhaust systems from internal combustion engines or motor powered vehicles · mines · sewers
If fresh air circulation is limited and CO is released in the air, it can reach a dangerously high level. When CO is inhaled, it enters the bloodstream and attaches to a blood cell protein called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin helps blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. If CO attaches to hemoglobin, the blood cells are unable to carry oxygen. The body then can't get enough oxygen and is unable to function normally.
What are the signs and symptoms of the condition?
Some of the symptoms associated with CO poisoning include the following: · a cherry-red skin color due to the mixture of hemoglobin and CO in the blood · confusion · dilated pupils and visual impairments · dizziness · headache · a heartbeat that is either too fast, or too slow · muscle spasms, paralysis, twitching, or convulsions · muscle weakness · nausea and vomiting · palpitations, or an unusual awareness of the heart beating in the chest · ringing in the ears · trouble breathing, or shortness of breath · unconsciousness or coma
(and since l smokes, his body is more use to co than mine is, so it didn't affect him in the small amounts we were quite possibly getting)
who knows for sure? i'm better now. still could have been the heat/food. spoke with others who were having the same symptoms as me, but still...makes you think. we were slowly getting poisoned over two or three weeks. we were lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment