You can’t taste carbon monoxide (CO), see it or smell it but it can kill quickly. On average 50 people a year in the UK are loosing their lives to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by faulty gas appliances. Not only can it cause death, it can also cause long term brain damage.
CO poisoning symptoms are similar to food poisoning, flu, viral infections and just general tiredness, the 6 main symptoms are as follows:
1. Headaches
2. Dizziness
3. Nausea
4. Breathlessness
5. Collapse
6. Loss of consciousness
Some other signs that could indicate carbon monoxide poisoning are:
• Your symptoms only occur when you are at home
• Your symptoms go away or improve when you leave home and come back when you return
• Others in your household, even your pets have the same symptoms at similar times
If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, get some fresh air straight away, turn off all gas appliances and leave the house and see your doctor immediately where blood and breath tests can be carried out immediately. You should then arrange for a GAS SAFE registered engineer to check your gas appliances and flues to see if there is a serious problem.
So, now you understand what to do in the case of a possible incident of CO poisoning, how can you avoid it happening in the first place?
Here it may help to understand exactly what CO is and how poisoning occurs. CO is a substance produced by the incomplete burning of gas and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), this happens when a gas appliance has been poorly fitted, repaired or badly maintained. It can also occur if vents, chimneys or flues are blocked. Clearly to avoid such eventualities it is of utmost importance that only a GAS SAFE registered engineer is allowed to fix, repair or install any gas appliances. It is also important to keep to the recommended yearly checks that you should have carried out on all of your appliances by again, only a GAS SAFE registered engineer.
Obviously, if all of the above are carried you out, you are significantly cutting down your chances of carbon monoxide poisoning, however, as a last tool, an audible carbon monoxide alarm should be fitted. An alarm will cost less than £20 from a D.I.Y. store and it will alert you to any poisonous gas present. Whilst you are sleeping you are even more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning as you will not be aware of the symptoms, therefore it is important to install an audible alarm rather than the ‘black spot’ indicators that only change colour when carbon monoxide is present, in this case, the alarm would wake you up.