Carbon monoxide is a type of highly toxic gas that has no smell, color or taste, these characteristics in particular make it difficult to identify their presence in the environment, which could cause severe and silent poisoning when the individual falls to high concentrations over an extended period of time, putting their life at risk.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is more common in winter because this gas is produced by burning fuel as accepted, gas, consumes carbon, which during the winter is used in radiators to keep the house warm.
- It is therefore important to take preventive measures to prevent such poisoning from occurring.
- As well as to know the signs and symptoms that may occur during carbon monoxide poisoning in order to identify it.
- Early and start proper treatment.
Some of the common signs and symptoms that may occur during carbon monoxide poisoning include:
The best symptoms occur more intensely in people who are closer to the source of carbon monoxide. In addition, whenever the most intense gas breathes symptoms, after about 2 hours, the person may lose consciousness and faint.
Even when there is a low concentration of carbon monoxide in the air, prolonged exposure can cause symptoms due to difficulty concentrating, mood swings and loss of coordination.
When carbon monoxide is inflated, it moves into the lungs and the blood dissolves into hemoglobin, an important component of the blood responsible for transporting oxygen to the various organs and tissues of the body.
When this happens, a protein molecule called carboxyhemoglobin is started, which does not allow oxygen to be transported from the lungs to organs, which eventually affects the functioning of the entire body and could even cause permanent brain damage if the situation persists.
When the poisoning is very prolonged or intense, this lack of oxygen can be fatal, causing a change of individual.
Whenever it is poisoned by carbon monoxide it is important to
If the person is unconscious and not breathing, cardiac resuscitation should begin. Learn how to practice CPR.
Hospital assessment is usually done with a blood test showing the percentage of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood, values greater than 30% are usually serious poisonings, and in these cases the individual should remain hospitalized for oxygen administration until the carboxyhemoglobin values are reduced by 10%.
While it’s hard to identify these gases by their smell, color, and taste, some things can prevent poisoning, here are:
The risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is higher in infants, infants and children, but this can happen at any time, even in the case of a pregnant woman, because fetal cells absorb carbon monoxide faster than an adult.