By Autumn Salvesen
autumn@newsroom.byu.edu
Tens of thousands of people seek medical attention because of it, more than 500 people die each year due to unintentional exposure from it and as many as 2000 people commit suicide each year by using it.
The silent killer is Carbon Monoxide.
An article found in the Carbon Monoxide Headquarters Web page, by David Penny, Ph.D., from Wayne State Medical University states 'that it has been known for many years that CO poisoning can produce lasting health harm, mainly through its destructive effects on the central nervous system.'
One student knows this all too well.
Lori Collier, 24, a senior from Raleigh, N.C., majoring in health promotion, was sitting in her Sparks' apartment with her sister when the CO detector went off.
Collier said that after it went off she and her roommates spent the night at a friend's house.
The next day, she talked to the maintenance worker at her apartment complex and he told her to call Questar Gas, a company that detects Carbon Monoxide leaks.
Collier said that Questar found low readings of CO in her apartment until he got to the closet with the furnace in it, and he found high levels of CO as well as unsafe pipe placing.
'Each form that he filled out had 'shooting flames' marked on it and he said the pipes were not connected correctly,' Collier said.
Collier said she also had been experiencing headaches for two weeks everyday. Collier did not experience any long-term health effects.
Stories like Collier's are not uncommon.
According to statistical data provided by CDC, in 1996, 525 people died from CO poisoning and around 45 in Utah died from it.
CO can be a harmful poison with sometimes devastating effects.
Statistics from Warren H. Green, Inc. stated that 92 percent of the people with CO poisoning experience fatigue followed by 87 percent with headaches, 69 percent with dizziness, 66 percents with sleep disturbances.
Other symptoms that people also experience due to CO poisoning are cardiac symptoms, apathy, nausea, memory disturbance and loss of appetite.
Penny's article stated that CO poisoning is often diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome, clinical depression or an endocrine disorder.
The article also said that the CO poisoning is not often identified by the medical profession because a person often times has different and unrelated symptoms.
The medical profession is presented with a list of five to 10 contrasting symptoms, which often lead them to think their patient is faking.
Information from U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commision advises that if a person thinks they are experiencing CO poisoning to get fresh air immediately and to open windows and doors for more ventilation.
CPSC also recommends turning off any combustion appliances, leaving the house and calling the fire department and reporting the symptoms.
They also said to contact a doctor immediately to receive a proper diagnosis and to be sure to tell the doctor of the suspected CO poisoning.
There are many ways to prevent CO poisoning.
The American Lung Association stated 'that 90 percent of people spend time indoors, where hazardous air pollutants can exist at higher levels than outdoors.'
They also stated that any 'fuel-burning appliance that is not adequately vented and maintained can be a potential source of CO.'
These include gas appliances, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves, space heaters, charcoal grills, automobile exhaust fumes, camp stoves and power tools.
The American Lung Association listed some simple ways to prevent CO poisoning.
They are to make sure all appliances are installed and working to manufactures' instructions and local building codes.
Have only a qualified technician install or convert fuel-burning equipment from one type to another.
Do not use ovens or gas ranges to heat your home or apartment.
Make sure your furnace has adequate intake of outside air.
These precautions should be taken seriously by people that live in smaller multi-unit dwellings.
Penny stated that higher levels of CO could be found in those types of housing complexes as well as households that using gas ranges for cooking and dwellings heated by gas wall furnaces.
All of these cautions are important to take, but another good way to prevent CO poisoning to install a CO detector.
CPSC stated that CO detectors go off when there is a dangerous level of CO present and suggested when installing a CO detector to follow the manufacture's instructions.
According to Carbon Monoxide headquarters, the best place to put the detector is near a bedroom, or other room where a lot of time is spent and to make sure it is in a place it can be heard.
Do not put the detector in a garage, furnace, corner of a room, by open windows, in excessively hot or cold areas and never cover the detector.