Carbon monoxide poisoning: Know the signs

Houston woman, girl dead from carbon monoxide poisoning

Police say a woman and a young girl died due to carbon monoxide poisoning in southwest Houston after a car was left running in the garage to try to create heat when the power was out.

Motor vehicles fill the air around us with carbon monoxide, though it is diluted by the time we inhale it.

But the colorless, tasteless and odorless fumes have proven to be especially dangerous when inhaled in high concentrations, such as inside a home.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 430 Americans die each year from accidental CO poisonings. and the gas sends an estimated 50,000 Americans to the emergency room.

During power outages, many people unknowingly put themselves at risk by using portable generators, propane stoves, furnaces, kerosene heaters and lanterns.

During this week’s polar vortex, which left millions of Americans without power, Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas treated at least 13 kids with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Symptoms of CO poisoning can be variable and nonspecific. But even though the gas is hard to detect through our senses, the CDC wants you to be aware of these warning signs:

Headache
Dizziness
Weakness
Nausea
Vomiting
Chest pain
Altered mental state

In addition, severe cases may result in the following

Malaise
Shortness of breath
Irritability
Ataxia
Altered mental status,
Other neurologic symptoms
Loss of consciousness
Coma
Death

The CDC also laid out steps you can take to protect yourself from high concentrations of CO, like installing a battery-powered CO detector in your home.

It should be placed in a spot where it’s likely to wake you up should it activate.

Other safety recommendations include:

Have your heating system, water heater, and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.
Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters indoors.
If you smell an odor from your gas refrigerator have an expert service it. An odor from your gas refrigerator can mean it could be leaking CO.
When you buy gas equipment, buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as Underwriters’ Laboratories.
Make sure your gas appliances are vented properly. Horizontal vent pipes for appliances, such as a water heater, should go up slightly as they go toward outdoors, as shown below. This prevents CO from leaking if the joints or pipes aren’t fitted tightly.
Have your chimney checked or cleaned every year. Chimneys can be blocked by debris. This can cause CO to build up inside your home or cabin.
Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum, or something else. This kind of patch can make CO build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
Never use a gas range or oven for heating. Using a gas range or oven for heating can cause a build up of CO inside your home, cabin, or camper.
Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal – red, gray, black, or white – gives off CO.
Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors. Using a gas camp stove indoors can cause CO to build up inside your home, cabin, or camper.
Never use a generator inside your home, basement, or garage or less than 20 feet from any window, door, or vent.
When using a generator, use a battery-powered or battery backup CO detector in your home.