Each year, around 1,300 accidental carbon monoxide poisonings are reported to health authorities.
- Appliances using fuels (natural gas, wood, coal, fuel oil, butane, propane, gasoline or oil, etc.) for the production of heat or light are all likely, if their operating conditions are not ideal, to produce carbon monoxide.
- Carbon monoxide (CO) is made up of a carbon atom (C) and an oxygen atom (O).
“Carbon monoxide poisoning can affect any of us.” As temperatures drop, the Ministry of Health and Public Health France calls for vigilance and gives advice to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hundreds of deaths every year
In winter, the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning increases, particularly due to the use of heating appliances. Each year, this toxic gas is responsible for a hundred deaths in France. “Invisible, odorless and non-irritating, carbon monoxide is undetectable. Simple gestures, however, help to reduce the risks”, explain public health experts. Here is what they recommend:
1/ before winter, have the heating and hot water production installations systematically checked and maintained, as well as the flues (mechanical sweeping) by a qualified professional in your main and secondary residence;
2/ ventilate your home for at least 10 minutes a day, even if it’s cold;
3/ keep your ventilation systems in good working order and never block the air inlets and outlets;
4/ always follow the instructions for use of combustion appliances indicated by the manufacturer: never operate the auxiliary heaters continuously; it is essential to place the generating sets outside the buildings; never use appliances not intended for this purpose to heat up: cooker, brazier, barbecue, etc.
“In communities, it is advisable to be particularly attentive: intoxications linked to the use of gas heaters are frequent”, add the health authorities.
What to do in case of poisoning?
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning – headaches, fatigue, nausea – appear more or less quickly and can affect several people in the same household. Significant poisoning can lead to coma and death, sometimes within minutes: action must therefore be taken very quickly. If poisoning is suspected:
– ventilate immediately;
– switch off combustion appliances if possible;
– evacuate the premises;
– call the emergency services by dialing 15, 18 or 112 (and 114 for the hearing impaired).
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