January 10, 2025
Summary
The Adair County Health Department urges everyone to check their heating systems to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
CO is a gas you can’t see, smell, or taste, but it’s very dangerous. It’s produced when fuels like gas, wood, or propane are burned. Faulty furnaces, heaters, stoves, or even cars can release CO, which can make you sick or even be deadly.
Early Signs of CO Poisoning:
· Headache
· Dizziness
· Weakness
· Nausea or vomiting
If you feel these symptoms, get fresh air and medical help right away.
How to Stay Safe:
· Install CO detectors in your home.
· Get your heating system checked every year.
· Never use ovens or grills to heat your house.
· Don’t run cars or generators in closed spaces.
Stay alert and protect your family from this invisible threat! For more tips, contact the Adair County Health Department.
Home heating systems help ward off winter’s chill, but faulty systems also increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Adair County Health Department urges citizens to ensure their furnaces and other heat sources are working properly to prevent carbon monoxide from seeping into their homes.
“Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas that can make you sick,” said Lori Guffey, administrator/RN. “At high levels, it can kill.”
Last year 33 people in Missouri died from carbon monoxide exposure and numerous others were sent to hospital emergency departments.
Carbon monoxide is released when fuels – including gasoline, natural gas, propane, kerosene, charcoal, and wood – are burned. Carbon monoxide poisoning can come from a variety of sources including furnaces, space heaters, stoves, generators, hot water heaters, clothes dryers, kerosene heaters, wood stoves and fireplaces. Cars, trucks, and boats can also produce high levels of carbon monoxide.
Because the gas can easily go unnoticed, the department recommends using carbon monoxide detectors, which are like smoke detectors. They are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased at department or hardware stores and online. The detectors will alert residents to the presence of carbon monoxide before symptoms of poisoning appear.
Unfortunately, by the time you experience symptoms, it may be too late to call for help. If you suspect carbon monoxide in your home or vehicle, you need to exit your house or car and seek fresh air immediately.
Early symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure include:
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Sleepiness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
Carbon monoxide can also cause people with heart disease to develop an irregular heartbeat. Exposure to higher concentrations of the gas can cause disorientation, coma, and convulsions, eventually concluding in death.
Anyone who suspects they are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning should get fresh air immediately and seek medical help.
Additional precautions to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning include:
- Install and operate natural gas-fueled appliances according to the manufacturer’s instructions;
- Have your home heating and ventilation systems inspected annually;
- Do not use natural gas-fueled appliances such as an oven, cooking stove or clothes dryer to heat your home, even for a short time;
- Do not burn charcoal inside a house, garage, vehicle, or tent or in a fireplace for heating or cooking;
- Do not use unvented gas or kerosene heaters in closed spaces, especially near or in sleeping areas; Opening a door or window does not allow enough fresh air to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning;
- Never leave an automobile running in a closed garage or in a garage attached to the house even with the garage door open;
- Do not use any gasoline-powered engines, such as mowers, weed trimmers, chainsaws, power washers or generators, in enclosed spaces;
- Do not leave the rear window or back door of a vehicle open while driving, and repair leaking exhaust pipes and mufflers on automobiles.
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