The Hidden Poison in Your Home

It’s a known poisonous gas that kills about 400 Americans every year and hospitalized 4,000 mores. It’s odorless, tasteless, and colorless, so it’s difficult to detect without a special device. And it’s all around us … It’s carbon monoxide or CO. CO is produced by incomplete combustion, for instance, when there is not enough oxygen available to let an organic fuel (like wood, charcoal, gasoline) burn completely. The unfortunate byproduct from unventilated combustion is CO. Mild exposure to CO can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and even flu-like symptoms. A study in the journal of Emergency Medicine found that about 6% of patients who showed up at the emergency room complaining of headache had high levels of CO in their blood—meaning the headache was likely the result of CO poisoning. Here are 10 tips to protect you from CO poisoning.

Jo Ann LeQuang is a professional writer specializing in medical topics and a Christ-follower who blogs at AWretchLike.Me.