Carbon monoxide nearly killed me - don't let it get you!

[Svendo]

Just to bump the thread and reasure all that I now have a CO detector. £10 at ASDA, not the all dancing model like ColinJ's (a similar one to that was £25) but a straight forward audible alarm one, just like your common or garden smoke detector.

Right, back to polishing the new bike now!

 

[Crankarm]

My ex girlfriends daughter lost her father in a similar incident a couple of years ago.

The gas heater on his house boat was producing CO2 into the cabin. He had what appeared to be flu symptoms over a period of time - when he moved off the boat to stay with family or friends, he got better. But eventually, when back on the boat he just didn't wake up one morning. Needn't have happened with a properly installed & serviced appliance, some knowledge of the symptoms and a bit of foresight.

As for your speech and language problems - see your GP and get him to refer you to the neurology department at your local hospital. I suffered severe head injury in an accident 3 years ago and one of the lasting issues is with my speech and writing - nothing too dire, just amusing when I use the wrong words. Like you, I have trouble remembering names of people, places and things and get names mixed up. Did some speech and language therapy, might help you too. But see the GP.

Crikey! I nearly died in similar circs when I was about 19. Dad had left me on his boat in Rye harbour, alone for a few hours while he went and got some stuff sorted. Tide was out so boat was sitting about 20ft below the quay on the mud. I boiled a few kettles of hot water and cooked something ready for tea. It was all smelling good. The next thing I remember is coming round as my old man got to the top of this long ladder on the quay side with me on his shoulders, the boat a speck below. I can clearly remember fresh air filling my lungs as I lay on my back semi conscious and my Dad trying frantically to pump my lungs, shaking me, trying to stop me from falling a sleep .... and dying. Once I was half awake he literally dragged me to make me walk and then run. With hindsight it was really scary for both of us. I can't really remember much as the CO must have overcome me quite quickly being inside the cabin and 20ft down in the harbour basin. My Dad didn't say much how he found me, as I guess he felt really guilty. I think I either passed out on the cabin floor or had snuggled up on one of the main bunks. I remember having a severe headache, feeling thirsty and very tired. I hadn't thought about after effects. Thanks for mentioning these, very interesting but worrying that the cause might have been this incident.

The tragedy in Greece was awful. For the cost of CO detectors that those two girls died is disgraceful. Thomas Cook should be fined millions and be facing corporate manslaughter charges for not insisting and checking that all their accommodation with gas appliances are fitted with CO detectors and also smoke detectors.

 

[rogerzilla]

You also need to be careful of CO when camping. Every year a few people fire up a gas lantern in their tent (the warmth is nice as well as the light), fall asleep and never wake up. In a large family tent with decent ventilation it's not advisable but usually OK, but in a small backpacking tent it is very risky indeed.

The symptoms of long-term CO poisoning (as opposed to acute CO poisoning in the OP) are said to be similar to the 'flu.

 

[ColinJ]

The symptoms of long-term CO poisoning (as opposed to acute CO poisoning in the OP) are said to be similar to the 'flu.

I had the 'flu-like symptoms for some time before the acute poisoning. I think the plaster at the back of my fire must have had a small crack in it for a week or two, before the hole opened up which led to the acute poisoning.

 

[asterix]

A further problem is that modern houses have much better draught-proofing than ever before, great for energy-saving not so good for ventilation. Could be why air-fresheners are big business.. Maybe they should come with a built in CO monitor.

 

[Piemaster]

Thanks for the reminder Colin.
Seems to be a bit of mix'n'match on gases here:
CO = carbon monoxide. The nasty horrible poisonous one, as per Colins warning.
CO2 = carbon dioxide. As used in fire extinguishers and fizzy drinks. Inert and harmless UNLESS in large quantities in enclosed spaces where it will reduce amount of oxygen to below what we need to live (think it's around 17-18%). Large quantities used to fight ships engine room fires reducing oxygen to below that which will maintain the fire. Heavier than air.
O2 = only warnings I've seen in conjunction with it is that it will cause fires to burn hotter/quicker (more oxygen) but is not dangerous in itself. Your ciggie won't last as long.

 

[siadwell]

And a related story in today's news: Enterprise Inns fined £300,000 over landlord's death

 

[ColinJ]

And a related story in today's news: Enterprise Inns fined £300,000 over landlord's death

That's outrageous! (Er, the negligence, not the fine - it should have been higher!)

 

[david k]

I would advise an audible alarm everytime.

The trouble with the ones that change colour, is that you have to be alert to them actually changing colour. Not many people would notice!

im pretty sure they have a short lifespan also

 

[david k]

Great post Colin.

lots of advice around the use of CO detectors, whilst this is advisable I would suggest an annual service is the most important. Prevention rather than cure.

Look out for;

old appliances
poor workmanship
dont block vents (this does happen)
flu symptoms

 

[vernon]

Great post Colin.

lots of advice around the use of CO detectors, whilst this is advisable I would suggest an annual service is the most important. Prevention rather than cure.

Look out for;

old appliances
poor workmanship
dont block vents (this does happen)
flu symptoms

Don't you mean flue symptoms

 

[ColinJ]

Don't you mean flue symptoms

Groaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

There have been a few cases reported recently of kids taking smouldering portable BBQs into tents to keep them warm, with fatal consequences (e.g. here and here ). Be vigilant for CO, and spread the word!

 

[ayceejay]

Not meant as competition but this is my story:
I rented a room in a cold old house. The landlady had installed a wood burning stove in the old fireplace and supplied me with fresh green wood, that should have been the first warning but I didn't know any better. One evening I stoked up the stove before going to bed and went to sleep in the warmth. Sometime in the night I needed to go to the toilet that was down the hall, when I stood up I immediately collapsed onto my right knee damaging knee and hip so that I couldn't stand up again. I felt really drowsy and it took me until the morning to edge myself to the door that I eventually opened to call for help. The flue had become clogged with creosote due to the wood and I learned a lesson about wood stoves.

 

[asterix]

Absolutely. Apparently our kitchen gas cooker gives off 70 ppm of CO into the room (which is fairly typical) whereas our newish boiler only emits a fraction of that into the atmosphere. (Just had the boiler serviced - it's ok).

200ppm into a room is not a situation you'd want to be in for long. 8 hours would be your lot.

 

[swee'pea99]

Reminded me of this awful personal account that appeared in The Guardian a month or two back...

It was a lovely summer's evening. We stayed outside, chatting and reading until the barbecue embers had burnt out. Two hours later, we carried the barbecue inside our tent so it wouldn't get wet if it rained. By now there was no heat in it at all.

A few nights earlier a bird had flown into our tent, so we zipped the door carefully to seal all the gaps.

When I woke it was daylight. I felt disorientated and my right arm, trapped beneath me, was completely numb. My senses were screaming that something was terribly wrong. With huge effort, I reached over to touch Hazel, lying a few feet away. Her body was utterly still and she wasn't breathing. I knew she had died.