Creepy Things You Didn't Know About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning hides its signs because it mimics common flu symptoms.It shares symptoms with the common flu.Headaches and nausea start CO poisoning. Weakness and vomiting follow.

A doctor often cannot immediately diagnose carbon monoxide poisoning based on these symptoms.

Humans cannot detect carbon monoxide. The gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.The gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.This means you could sit in a house with a CO leak and have no idea.

Install a carbon monoxide detector to be sure you are safe.

Carbon monoxide has earned its name as a silent killer.

More than 400 Americans die each year from carbon monoxide.Over 400 Americans perish from CO leaks from fuel-burning appliances like furnaces.People die from CO leaks coming from fuel-burning appliances like furnaces.

Carbon monoxide affects victims simply. Normal breathing pumps oxygen into the blood, moving it to organs like the brain and heart. When large amounts of carbon monoxide enter, that gas gets into the blood instead of oxygen.The gas gets into the blood.It replaces the oxygen.

The body circulates this carbon monoxide-rich blood to organs, just like with oxygen. But carbon monoxide does not keep organs, blood, and the body alive. It starts serious damage; organs stop working, though early warning signs appear first.

Carbon monoxide poisons people through walls. Even if your furnace works fine, you can still be poisoned if your building has drywall.CO from a neighbor's faulty appliance can leak through the walls.CO can leak through the walls.

Researchers at the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle wrote, "There are numerous media reports describing simultaneous CO poisonings in different units of multifamily dwellings." They added, "Even though CO might have traveled through ventilation ducts, hallways, or stairways, the building configurations in many such cases are inconsistent with this explanation, raising the possibility that CO passes through walls."

Sleep easily now.

North Carolina requires carbon monoxide detectors in all homes. A 2012 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) survey found only 68% of people in Charlotte, North Carolina, had working alarms.

Field expert Eric Lavonas often meets residents who think their smoke alarm also detects carbon monoxide.Residents often assume their smoke alarm detects carbon monoxide..

If you get the flu-like symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, there is a chance for diagnosis. However, a small leak grows...If a small leak grows...Over time, the body builds a partial tolerance to carbon monoxide. People only show symptoms like fatigue and headache. Infants and the elderly, with weaker bodies, get sick much faster than young, healthy people. Those with heart disease, anemia, and breathing issues also face risk.

You can die from carbon monoxide without showing any symptoms by beingDrunk or asleep, people can suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.If you sleep, you can ignore all symptoms and die before showing any poisoning signs. Drunk people often feel sick, tired, and have blurry vision. Their drunkenness masks the symptoms, and they might pass out before anyone sees what is wrong.

Most people know the biggest dangers from CO poisoning come fromGas furnaces, ranges, and water heaters release this gas.Anything that burns fuel can become a source for this gas.

Tools likelawnmowersgenerators, and propane or charcoal grills can be dangerous if used in the wrong place.

According to sources, people can mistake carbon monoxide poisoning for dementia.A story in this list details how CO poisoning mimics dementia.The Mirror shows how CO poisoning can look like dementia.Briton Sue Westwood-Ruttledge had a furnace leak carbon monoxide into her house nightly for three years. During that time, she became forgetful, easily lost, and withered. She turned into a shell of her former self. These were all signs of dementia. She and her son survived because they kept windows open every night while sleeping, letting the gas escape.

As the brain tries to work without needed oxygen, thinking becomes hard. Poisoned people get confused easily, struggle with coordination, and may lose judgment. A victim might alsoPeople feel agitated because of carbon monoxide poisoning.without knowing the source of the fear. The body knows it is under attack; it just does not know the source or what to do. If your body tells you to run or leave, that is good advice. Getting oxygen is the safest, best move.

Some strange poisoning cases exist globally. Reddit has a story involvingCO poisoning and Post-it Notes saved one person's life after a Reddit comment.Someone posted on Reddit about being so confused he wrote notes on Post-its, then found them later, forgetting he wrote them. A Redditor replied there might be CO involved.

That suggestion saved the person's life. Sometimes the internet wins—for those who prefer posting on Reddit over seeing a doctor, that is.

Carbon monoxide poisoning reaching a critical level lets victims lose all muscle control. This usually precedes death. The brain shuts down, trying to save its last energy and oxygen, meaning a person willCarbon monoxide poisoning can make you pass out.When unconscious, a person breathes slower. This means they absorb carbon monoxide slowly, using less of the system's oxygen. This seems good, but passing out stops a person from escaping the poison.

Another thing that sometimes happens is pass out.Seizures occur.These happen when there isCarbon monoxide causes abnormal electrical activity.in the brain. Lack of oxygen stops the brain from making sense of things. Brain parts sometimes fire rapidly, causing a seizure even while someone is unconscious.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is bad on land, but it might be worse on water. CO poisoning symptoms match seasickness. Cruise ship passengers and crew have fallen ill while at sea.Passengers and crew fall ill while at sea.Passengers and crew fall ill while at sea.

Boaters face greater risk than land victims. CO poisoning is often the last sickness a doctor considers at sea.

Studies show expectant mothers can recover fully from certain CO poisoning doses. However, carbon monoxide poisoning can causeCO poisoning causes severe birth defects.or end the fetus.

Recovering from acute carbon monoxide poisoning is brutal. Major long-term effects include brain damage.Major long-term effects include brain damage.This brain damage causes movement and learning issues and memory problems.

The worst outcome involves brain damage so severe the brain cannot keep the body running.Ultimately, this happens.how a person dies from carbon monoxide poison.

Carbon monoxide causes more accidental deaths than any other poison in history. This is partly because it acts fast. People can take in harmful, even deadly, levels of this substance in onlyYou could perish in a few minutes., and the brain has only a short time without oxygen. By the time you notice bad symptoms, damage might already be done.

Luckily, you can stop it from getting worse. If you go outside,Symptoms will improve., showing you had carbon monoxide poisoning. Home carbon monoxide detectors offer warnings. If you feel any symptoms without cause, leave the area to see if symptoms improve. If symptoms are severe, go to a hospital right away to limit damage.