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Allowable
Limits for Carbon
Monoxide
Carbon
Monoxide Alarms
Carbon
Monoxide Fact Sheet
Carbon
Monoxide Misconceptions
Chronic
Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning
History
of Carbon Monoxide
How
Carbon Monoxide is produced
Symptons
of CO Poisoning
Where
Carbon Monoxide Comes
From
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Misconceptions
Properties, Presence & Detection:
- CO is easy to detect.
- CO is lighter than air and therefore rises (to the ceiling)
and stays there.
- CO is not combustible.
- CO and natural gas are the same thing.
- You can always tell if CO is present because of a peculiar
odor that will be present.
- A brand new, well designed, perfectly "tuned" heating/cooking
device cannot produce toxic/lethal amounts of CO.
- Diesel engine exhaust never contains adequate CO to cause
harm.
- HVAC and gas company personnel always check for CO when performing
maintenance/service on home heating systems.
- CO will be detected immediately by service personnel if it
is present in a home heating system.
- When your home CO detector shows low levels of CO, it is
probably just an instrument malfunction.
- Cracks in heat exchangers are responsible for production of
CO.
- Home CO detectors/sensors are the best devices to ferret out
CO because they react to very low levels of the gas.
More Misconceptions
Physiology
- CO binding to hemoglobin is irreversible.
- CO (caused) hypoxia is no more serious than any other type
of hypoxia.
- CO poisoning is no more serious than an anemia in which there
is a comparable amount of hemoglobin able to carry oxygen.
- Small animals (birds, mice, etc.) die more quickly because
their hemoglobin binds CO more avidly than that of humans, thus
they were used as alarms for CO in mines.
- The fetus is protected from CO by the maternal body.
- Good COHb measurements can be obtained one day to a week
after a person leaves the site of the CO poisoning.
- Breathing "clean" air for 2-3 hours will eliminate all CO
from the body.
- Breathing 100% oxygen for 20-30 minutes will eliminate all
CO from the body.
- Breathing (filter) masks protect the wearer from inhalation
of CO.
More Misconceptions
Symptoms
- The skin, nail beds, etc. of people with CO poisoning are
invariably red or pink in color.
- Fever is a symptom of CO poisoning.
- Nasal congestion, cough and hoarseness are symptoms of CO.
- The lungs are inflammed by low to moderate levels of CO and
will show pathology on X-rays.
- Symptom clusters involving prolonged headache, dizziness,
nausea, and fatigue of the whole family should be blamed on
viruses, bad food, or group craziness.
- Everyone responds to CO in the same way, ie. show the same
symptoms.
Even More Misconceptions
Treatment, Outcome
- Inhalation of 100% oxygen from a rebreathing mask or from
nasal prongs are recommended best immediate means of removing
CO from the body.
- Victims of CO poisoning should be released from medical care
immediately following 1-2 hours of oxygen treatment, whether
or not their symptoms have disappeared.
- There is no need for repeat COHb measurements, psychometric
tests, or other clinical tests following medical treatment for
CO poisoning.
- People who recover from CO poisoning are always completely
normal.
- Depression and personality change never result from CO poisoning.
- CO exposure never produces brain damage unless there is a
period of unconsciousness.
- Low / moderate CO exposure cannot produce brain damage or
significant changes in functional performance.
- In environments containing CO, the levels of CO2, oxygen and
other gases are unimportant in the degree of poisoning.
Miscellaneous
- Physicians receive adequate training in the diagnosis and
treatment of CO poisoning in medical school.
- Physicians obtain adequate experience with CO poisoning in
treating their patients.
- Psychiatrists and neurologists are the best medical professionals
of choice to determine the extent of CNS damage caused by CO.
- High-tech imaging devices (CT, MR, SPECT) always shows areas
of brain damage from CO poisoning, if it exists.
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