Carbon Monoxide The Silent Killer

The tenth CO Awareness Week begins occurs every 2nd week in November. Carbon monoxide (CO), known as the silent killer, is a colourless, odourless, highly poisonous gas that is produced when fuels are burned incompletely. Everybody is exposed to CO in everyday life; from boilers, open fires, cars, generators and even burning your toast. However, prolonged exposure can lead to severe health consequences, and if exposed for too long, death. An exposure to 1200ppm of carbon monoxide can kill you within 3 minutes.

Lynn Griffiths, founder and president of the charity CO Awareness, which organises the week explains why this issue is very close to her heart, “My family and I were poisoned by chronic exposure to low-level carbon monoxide for nearly eleven years. Every year I had all my fuel burning appliances serviced; the cooker, boiler and fire, yet we still fell victim to carbon monoxide. I have an acquired brain injury because of my exposure to carbon monoxide, which starved my brain of oxygen”.

Symptoms of early CO poisoning are similar to those of flu; headaches, nausea, dizziness, vomiting. But prolonged exposure results in physical, psychological and neurological damage. The charity has made vast progress over the years and is now encouraging local schools to address the issue of CO poisoning through her Key Stage 2 and 3 teaching packs. They are also campaigning heavily throughout social media to raise awareness of CO poisoning.

Although low cost carbon monoxide alarms can be bought for your house, a CO alarm will never activate below 50ppm and is only accurate to +/- 30% of the actual reading, meaning more people than known could be suffering from chronic low-level CO poisoning.

Bedfont Scientific’s ToxCO monitor can instantly diagnose CO poisoning by analysing a breath sample from the patient to determine the level of CO in their blood. The ToxCO monitor is a non-invasive tool, which provides instant results unlike more traditional methods of testing for CO poisoning, like blood testing, saving valuable time when diagnosing a patient. The ToxCO also comes with a face mask option for unconscious patients, and an ambient air mode designed for emergency services and first responders.

Bedfont Scientific’s General Manager, Jason Smith, adds, “With CO Awareness week approaching, we want to help Lynn, from the CO Awareness charity, heighten the profile of the dangers surrounding carbon monoxide and how to prevent the harmful and potentially fatal effects of CO poisoning with a simple breath test using the ToxCO”.