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MURRAY — As cold weather arrives in Utah and people are using furnaces and heaters, doctors are advising people to be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
In fact, heaters are the most common cause of poisoning in Utah, according to Dr. Lindell Weaver, medical director of hyperbaric medicine at Intermountain Medical Center.
"Every year — predictably — we see more patients poisoned by carbon monoxide at the beginning of the winter than at any other time," he said.
Weaver said physicians treat "far too many" patients for the potentially fatal malady all year — an average of 50 patients are brought to or seek care at Intermountain LDS Hospital and Intermountain Medical Center for carbon monoxide poisoning every year.
Carbon monoxide is the No. 1 cause of poisoning death in the U.S., as well, killing about 1,000 people each year from instances not linked to fires.
What should you do?
Weaver said just a little bit of carbon monoxide is "quite toxic" and urged people to be careful with heating systems. He said anything that burns fuel produces carbon monoxide — including fireplaces, gas stoves, water heaters, space heaters, portable generators, small gas engines and chimneys.
Even high-efficiency heating systems produce some carbon monoxide, but all heaters should have vents to expel the gas so it doesn't enter the home.
At the start of winter, especially, people may learn a vent is broken, a bird built a nest in it, it was damaged in a storm or it just broke. Once that exhaust is getting into the home, Weaver said, it can pass through average walls like they aren't even there.
The doctor urges people to have heating systems inspected by a professional at least once a year, to have carbon monoxide alarms placed throughout their homes and not to use a gas-powered machine inside a home or enclosed space.
Fans at the windows or wearing a mask will do nothing to help when a gas-powered machine, not designed to be used indoors, is releasing carbon monoxide, he said, adding that people can become unconscious and need serious treatment within 20 to 30 minutes of using a gas-powered machine indoors.
Weaver suggests alarms be placed near bedrooms, so people can hear it if it goes off when they are sleeping. If a home has two or more floors, or two heating systems, it should have multiple carbon monoxide detectors throughout the home.
Alarms can be placed at any height, but near the floor is where they are mostly likely to get filled with dust and debris that could make them less effective.
If the alarm goes off and people are not sick, they should turn off anything that might be causing it, like heaters, and stop using hot water — then call the gas company to help them locate the source.
If people are sick and the alarm goes off, Weaver suggests calling emergency services or seeking medical care. He said people who are sick from exposure to carbon monoxide should not drive themselves to get medical aid.
"Don't ignore the alarm," Weaver said. "It's not just going off for some silly reason, it's going off because it detected carbon monoxide."
Symptoms and treatment
Carbon monoxide poisoning can lead to mild symptoms, like a headache, dizziness or things just feeling not right, to more severe symptoms like heart attacks, seizures or death — particularly at night when people don't notice the gradual symptoms.
Weaver said the symptoms are progressive, and are more severe with larger amounts of carbon monoxide and longer periods of exposure.
He said a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning is if everyone in the home or building is sick. And younger children will usually get sick first.
The first treatment, Weaver said, is evacuation — stop breathing in the carbon monoxide. At the hospital, doctors can provide oxygen treatment to help restore the body and get the carbon monoxide out of a patient's system.
One of the more concerning symptoms is permanent damage to the brain, Weaver said, which happens with higher levels of exposure.
Intermountain Health uses a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, as breathing pure oxygen at increased pressure can rid the body of carbon monoxide even faster. This treatment has been shown to reduce brain damage from carbon monoxide poisoning, Weaver said Friday.
While it depends on the severity of illness, he said people are typically in the chamber about 2½ hours. They can't bring phones in, but they can watch movies from inside the chamber.
Some people may need to be in the hospital for days or weeks after exposure, but often those who are using the chamber do not need to be hospitalized.
