Every year, thousands of people are poisoned by carbon monoxide. To prevent the formation of this gas, it is important to have your heating system checked every year.
Invisible, odorless and non-irritating, carbon monoxide (CO) silently invites itself into our homes when temperatures drop. Each year from October to March, this gas is responsible for thousands of poisonings resulting in a hundred deaths. In France, it is the leading cause of death by toxicants. However, simple gestures can reduce the risk of poisoning, as reminded by the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (INPES).
During the winter, it is quite normal to turn on the heating or make a fire in your fireplace. However, carbon monoxide can be released from boilers and water heaters or from poorly maintained stoves (running on gas, wood, coal, gasoline or even ethanol). It is also important to note that carbon monoxide is not produced by electrical devices.
Kills in less than an hour
To limit the risks, INPES recommends having all heating and hot water production appliances and flue pipes checked by a qualified professional. Despite the cold, ventilate all the rooms in the house for at least 10 minutes and never block the air inlets and outlets. The institute also recalls that auxiliary heaters are not designed to stay on all day but only two consecutive hours per day.
These recommendations are far from trivial and the dangers are real. Since September 1, 2015, 42 people were urgently hospitalized, one of whom died. Carbon monoxide diffuses very quickly and can kill in less than an hour. It causes poisoning by attaching to red blood cells, which results in asphyxiation.
“Headache, nausea, vomiting are the symptoms that should alert, indicate the INPES. If these symptoms are observed in several people in the same room or they disappear outside this room, it may be carbon monoxide poisoning ”. In this case, you must open the doors and windows, stop the heating and / or cooking appliances leaving the house and call for help. The return home cannot be done without the backing of the emergency services.
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