Northern Light Pediatrics-Newsletter

Carbon Monoxide is a very dangerous gas. A person cannot otherwise detect it, as it has no taste or odor. The following is produced by the AAP as helpful reminders about the detection and precautions of carbon monoxide.

Take precautions to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

You can't see it, smell it, or taste it. But it can kill you.

This silent killer is carbon monoxide (CO), a gas produced by cars, appliances, and heaters that burn natural gas, oil, wood, propane, or kerosene. If left unchecked, exposure to carbon monoxide can lead to memory loss, personality changes, brain damage, and even death. In fact, carbon monoxide is blamed for more than 500 unintentional deaths in the United States every year.

Carbon monoxide can get trapped in a home when:
appliances do not work properly,
a stove or furnace has a clogged chimney or vent,
a car is left running in an attached garage, or
a charcoal grill or gasoline-powered generator is used in a closed area.

Symptoms of CO poisoning include dizziness, shortness of breath, headache, fatigue, confusion, nausea, and fainting. If you or your children have these symptoms after being in an enclosed area, get fresh air immediately and go to an emergency department. Be sure to tell your doctor that you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning.

To prevent such poisonings, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents install carbon monoxide detectors in their homes, especially near bedrooms. These devices, some of which can be plugged into electrical outlets, sound an alarm when they detect the toxic gas building up.

Here are some other precautions to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:
Never leave a car running in an attached garage, even if the garage door is open.
Never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern, or portable camping stove in an enclosed area or indoors, even in a fireplace or in a tent.
Have furnaces, wood stoves, fireplaces, hot water heaters, ovens, ranges, and clothes dryers serviced and inspected at least once a year.
Never use the oven to heat your home.
Make sure that flues and chimneys are well-connected, and have an annual inspection and cleaning to be sure they are not blocked by debris, bird nests, or soot.
Never use gasoline-powered engines (mowers, weed trimmers, snow blowers, chain saws, small engines, or generators) in closed spaces.

White it's tempting to turn to a gas-powered generator for heat and electricity when the power goes out, it also is risky.

"If you want to use a gasoline-powered generator when the power goes out, set it up outside in a dry area, away from air intakes to the home," said Hal Stratton, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "And never use a charcoal grill inside because you risk being poisoned by deadly carbon monoxide. Opening doors and windows or operating fans to ventilate is inadequate and unsafe. Even with a CO alarm, you should never use a gasoline-powered generator or a charcoal grill inside."

-2003 American Academy of Pediatrics