carbon monixide poisoning

phulklip

phulklip

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It never occured to me that you could get c/o poisoning in the summer, it was the last thing on my mind. The beach house is sealed up very tight to keep the cool air in. It appears that there is not enough ventalation to exhaust the c/o fumes from my gas stove.
For the past two months I've been very tired and weak, I've also had trouble consentrating. My doctor gave me a carboxyhemoglobin test yesterday, normal is 0 to 1.5, I'm at 18.6. Time will tell if there is any permanent damage.
Please, please, please, get yourself a digitized carbon monoxide detector and use it. Don't assume that everything is alright in your dwelling. It happened to me.......it does not have to happen to you.
Thanks for listening.
 
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Hope you get to feeling better. Sounds pretty rough.

Probably won't make you feel any better, but I get the same symptoms every time I talk with my boss. I'd like to hang a "digitized carbon monoxide detector" around his neck.

A little humor. Hang in there!

Out
West
 
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My gas appliances are vented and in a separate room away from living quarters and a window is always partially open in any room I am sleeping.That must be one stuffy beach house to get CO levels that high in your house.I would be seeking the source of why CO is even present in the living quarters. Properly installed and maintained gas appliances should emit no discernible CO levels in to the living space.Lack of a CO detectors is not the problem.
 
Please have your equipment checked out. The top burners on a range should not produce CO other than perhaps at start up. The oven burner may. By code there should be adequate air for combustion. I have had the unfortunate experience of being an expert witness in CO poisoning. The literature I have shows a blood level CO of 9 ppm is fatal. I would get a different testing medium. 9ppm blood levels equal 800+ ppm in air for 6-8 hours exposure, meaning that you would be cooking for that time without ever leaving the house.
 
We have a detector in the house (only gas heat), but I have one in the truck, too. I've talked to a couple of drivers that had CO poisoning from engine exhaust, and the detectors are cheaper than a visit to the doctor. Turns out mine may have saved me some hassle. It's gone off twice when I've had my gas generator running at night and the wind was blowing the exhaust back under the cab. Cheap, cheap, cheap life insurance!
 
Good to know you are going to be ok...thanks for the heads up.
 
I worked with a old retired homicide detective from indianapolis. He told me the worst thing to do if you find someone unconcious from it was to break open a window like they do in the movies. He said it somehow speeds up things and can finish off the victim. He said you have to revive them slowly.
 
Hate to disagree with you friend, BUT the more oxygen that you can get to them, as quick as you can, the better. CO binds up the hemoglobin, but not all of it. The remaining Hgb needs the Oxygen.

CO is very dangerous.Put in detectors!

medxam
 
Nasty stuff,got a dose on a hunting trip several years ago.Took several days before my head cleared up enough to realize what had happened.
 
My Grandfather worked as a mechanic prior to WWII. Due to the design of the shop, he got CO poisoning. (1942) He lived to be 100. CO is heavier than air and can accumulate in low places. He switched careers after he recovered from the CO.
 
I had to spend 2 hours in a very small hyperbaric chamber early one morning because of this. They said 2 hours in the chamber would do better than 24 hours with an oxygen mask and if they did nothing it could take several days to clear up.
The chamber was like being in an acrylic coffin and you lay there swallowing or holding your nose and blowing with your mouth shut trying to pop your ears. If they don't pop it starts feeling like someone is sticking an ice pick through your ear.
It was a long 2 hours for me but the nurse said she had to do while holding a small child that was crying the whole time, can't imagine that.
Also the lady working in the back of the ambulance said that last guy they picked up for this is no longer with us.
Take it serious.
 
My wife had a mild dose of this a few years ago. In 2008 we had our roof replaced after a hail storm. A few months later she was feeling tired and had headaches. she researched it a bit. Decided to call the Fire Dept.(Unfortunately for her, they sent the old ones, not the young cute ones, but she likes them all) They used their trusty detectors and forund elevated CO levels. It was not to lethal levels and was not even picked up by our CO detectors. They looked around a buit and found the flue on one of our attic mounted Water Heaters had been knocked askew. The roofer was out in a few hours and took care of the issue. Make sure you check these kinds of things when you have any work done. This happened while I was on one of my adventures in the sand.
 
I'll second checking these things after having work done. In Jan. of this year a tornado went through our area. Neighbor's tree landed on our house and we had shingles blown off all over the roof. Also one of the many trees that were blown over ruptured the gas line going to the house.
We had a new roof on the house before the gas co. got the new line in and that was a blessing in disguise. Unknown to me when they roofed the house they apparently knocked the vent loose at the top of the water heater when they put new flashing on.
When the gas was turned on and we went to light the water heater we noticed the vent. I don't like to think what could have happened if the gas had been on when they roofed the house.
Another little tidbit about the hyperbaric chamber, before they put me in it I had to do a little test. They had a paper with the numbers one through ten and the letters A through J scrambled around on the page. I had to draw a line from 1 to A and from A to 2 and from 2 to B and so forth. They timed me as I did it and it did not seem particularly hard. After coming out of the chamber I did again and I completed it in about half the time.
 
jaykellogg said:
My Grandfather worked as a mechanic prior to WWII. Due to the design of the shop, he got CO poisoning. (1942) He lived to be 100. CO is heavier than air and can accumulate in low places. He switched careers after he recovered from the CO.
Click to expand...

CO is almost the exact density if air and measurable levels from ceiling and floor will not vary more than 1-2%. Other gases from engine exhaust are heavier than air.
 
The vapor density of air is 1.0 CO is .97 at the same temperature. CO will form a strata above the colder air near the floor and the warmer air at the ceiling. Detector placement 2/3 between the floor and ceiling-throw in any air movement and mixture will even out. At high enough temperatures CO is flammable and if concentrated and trapped it can add a little pucker factor to a structure fire. By all means get i figured out and protect yourself.
 
I've got 2 carbon monoxide detectors. They pass the "press the test button test". Can I give them a "real" test by holding them in close proximity to (say 4') the exhaust on my truck?
 
JcMack said:
I've got 2 carbon monoxide detectors. They pass the "press the test button test". Can I give them a "real" test by holding them in close proximity to (say 4') the exhaust on my truck?
Click to expand...

I've never tried it, but I don't see why that wouldn't work. They're looking for CO in the PPM (parts per million) range, so unless you swapped a Prius engine into your truck, it should go off. Start at 4' and if it doesn't go off in a couple of minutes, get closer.
 
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