KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was tragic news shared Monday morning, when three people died due to reported carbon monoxide poisoning in Kansas City, Missouri — one of whom was only 14 years old.
I spoke with Dr. Marc Larsen, an emergency physician with Saint Luke's Health System, to learn carbon monoxide safety tips you can take.
He says carbon monoxide poisoning is a silent killer because it's colorless and odorless.
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"Carbon monoxide poisoning is a real serious issue," Dr. Larsen said. "You can't really tell if you have an exposure unless you have symptoms or unless you have a certain carbon monoxide detector at your house."
Dr. Larsen says it's critical for homeowners to have detectors in the home, especially with aging gas or propane furnaces.
"You should have a carbon monoxide detector really on every level of your house, preferably a place near your bedroom so you can hear the alarm in the middle of the night and then one near your HVAC system or your gas furnace," Dr. Larsen said. "Really, you have no way of knowing if you have a carbon monoxide leak unless those smoke detectors are going off."
Dr. Larsen says they do see a fair amount of people who've had some level of carbon monoxide poisoning.
"It's a great imitator because the symptoms are what we call nonspecific; it's not like you have this symptom and you automatically go to the diagnosis of carbon monoxide. They're very vague," he said. "Most people present with a headache, usually about 80-85% have a headache, dizziness, fatigue. And then the higher exposure you get nausea, vomiting to the point of having loss of level alertness or being unconscious."
He says to keep those symptoms in mind, especially this time of year when more people are turning their furnaces on for the first time.
"The other things that help, oftentimes it's multiple people in the house with the same symptoms that are all exposed, oftentimes children or smaller people will have more symptoms, kind of the canary in the coal mine type diagnosis," Dr. Larsen said. "Also, when you start having headaches when you're home and they get better when you're out of the house, exposed to fresh air...that's another thing that I think about when people say, 'every time I go home, I get this headache, or when I'm sleeping.' That's a concern as well."
When I asked him what happens if the carbon monoxide detector does go off, he says immediately remove yourself from that environment, get some fresh air and contact the fire department.
"When they come in the emergency department, we have a high suspicion of carbon monoxide poisoning," Dr. Larsen said. "We typically will just place them on oxygen 'cause that's really the treatment: getting out of that environment and then a high flow of oxygen."
I also chatted with the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department, who said you can contact their non-emergency line. They stated they are able to come and assess your home for carbon monoxide if you aren't sure whether or not there may be a leak.
"The pregnant population is very vulnerable because the way that fetal hemoglobin binds onto that carbon monoxide. So patients that are pregnant, smaller children and the elderly are the ones we worry the most about," Dr. Larsen said.
Larsen also said to let triage center nurses know if you have a high suspicion of carbon monoxide poisoning or believe you are at risk due to a factor like an older furnace.
"Because if you get to triage with just headache or dizziness and otherwise look okay...you might not get a high as level of triage and that's always a concern when someone's sitting there with carbon monoxide poisoning and isn't getting that high flow of oxygen."
Here are some more tips CDC shared on its website.
