Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Carbon Monoxide, often referred to by its chemical properties "CO", is an invisible, odorless, poisonous gas that can be deadly when inhaled. Because you can't see, taste, or smell it, carbon monoxide can kill you within minutes. At lower levels of exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning can leave you with serious health injuries. Wherever fossil fuels are burned, carbon monoxide results as a by-product of incomplete combustion. When appliances or fuel-burning equipment are maintained and used properly, the amount of CO produced is minimal and is usually not hazardous. However, each and every year, hundreds of people die accidentally from CO poisoning caused by malfunctioning or improperly used fuel-burning equipment or idling cars. Prevention is your first line of defense. As a secondary measure, we recommend installation of carbon monoxide detectors. You can't be too over-protective where CO poisoning is concerned!

Although nobody is exempt from becoming its victim, certain individuals are already at a disadvantage. Those who have asthma, lung and heart problems, the elderly, children, infants, and the unborn are especially vulnerable to carbon monoxide poisoning. When we breathe in carbon monoxide, it quickly attaches itself to the hemoglobin in the blood. This attraction displaces the oxygen that the organs require to function and the CO forms a compound in the blood known as carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). When CO poisoning occurs, it is often misdiagnosed because it causes headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, confusion and irritability symptoms which are similar to a variety of other illnesses.

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