We have read and heard stories of people dying in their sleep from
inhaling carbon monoxide. The major source of carbon monoxide in Nigeria
is from generators while cars play a second role. I read a story here
one day about a couple who died from inhaling CO and their son claimed
his parents may have been killed and he called for investigation.
Investigations showed they died from the CO gas. How does CO kill people
in their sleep? Why is it that people don’t wake up as soon as they
start inhaling CO?
Form my personal experience in January, I came back from work very tired (Lagos traffic: Obalende to Ajah not smiling). I fell on my bed and just slept off. In the middle of the night, I just woke up suddenly as usual (I’m not a heavy sleeper) I couldn’t breathe properly, my hands were weak. Immediately I called my fiancée and I thought I was going to die. I managed to crawl to the bathroom, opened the tap on to my face. After that, I grabbed a sachet of water and drank. Surprisingly, I was better and I started to think. I realized I forgot to shut the window at night. My neighbour makes use of his generator till dawn so I have inhaled CO. It was a miracle I survived.
When carbon monoxide (CO) is breathed in it poisons the body by displacing the oxygen levels in the blood and effectively starving vital organs including the heart and brain of oxygen. This will cause loss of consciousness, (THIS IS THE MAJOR REASON MANY PEOPLE DON’T WAKE), suffocation and breathing in a large amount of this gas can have a deadly effect in a matter of minutes. Oxygen is transported around the body via the red blood cells. Specifically, oxygen binds to a substance within the red blood cells called haemoglobin.
Haemoglobin takes up oxygen as blood passes through the lungs, and at the same time carbon dioxide, produced by the body's metabolism, is released from the blood into the exhaled breath. Carbon monoxide, if inhaled, will bind itself to haemoglobin but does so about 240 times more tightly than oxygen, forming a compound called carboxyhaemoglobin. The problem is, the body cannot differentiate O2 from CO. This means that if both carbon monoxide and oxygen are inhaled, carbon monoxide will preferentially bind to haemoglobin. This reduces the amount of haemoglobin available to bind to oxygen, so the body and tissues become starved of oxygen. When unconsciousness sets in, CO poisons the body by shutting down the body systems and the person dies quietly.
However, the poisoning is not always instant. On a daily basis, we are exposed and the body is getting poisoned daily. So if you're living in a neighbourhood where generators never cease to work, always have your windows shut. Do not operate your own set close to the window (very common in Lagos because of security reasons) or indoors. If you're always fatigued, having frequent headaches, vomiting, dizziness etc, visit your doctor. It may be CO poisoning or something else.
Form my personal experience in January, I came back from work very tired (Lagos traffic: Obalende to Ajah not smiling). I fell on my bed and just slept off. In the middle of the night, I just woke up suddenly as usual (I’m not a heavy sleeper) I couldn’t breathe properly, my hands were weak. Immediately I called my fiancée and I thought I was going to die. I managed to crawl to the bathroom, opened the tap on to my face. After that, I grabbed a sachet of water and drank. Surprisingly, I was better and I started to think. I realized I forgot to shut the window at night. My neighbour makes use of his generator till dawn so I have inhaled CO. It was a miracle I survived.
When carbon monoxide (CO) is breathed in it poisons the body by displacing the oxygen levels in the blood and effectively starving vital organs including the heart and brain of oxygen. This will cause loss of consciousness, (THIS IS THE MAJOR REASON MANY PEOPLE DON’T WAKE), suffocation and breathing in a large amount of this gas can have a deadly effect in a matter of minutes. Oxygen is transported around the body via the red blood cells. Specifically, oxygen binds to a substance within the red blood cells called haemoglobin.
Haemoglobin takes up oxygen as blood passes through the lungs, and at the same time carbon dioxide, produced by the body's metabolism, is released from the blood into the exhaled breath. Carbon monoxide, if inhaled, will bind itself to haemoglobin but does so about 240 times more tightly than oxygen, forming a compound called carboxyhaemoglobin. The problem is, the body cannot differentiate O2 from CO. This means that if both carbon monoxide and oxygen are inhaled, carbon monoxide will preferentially bind to haemoglobin. This reduces the amount of haemoglobin available to bind to oxygen, so the body and tissues become starved of oxygen. When unconsciousness sets in, CO poisons the body by shutting down the body systems and the person dies quietly.
However, the poisoning is not always instant. On a daily basis, we are exposed and the body is getting poisoned daily. So if you're living in a neighbourhood where generators never cease to work, always have your windows shut. Do not operate your own set close to the window (very common in Lagos because of security reasons) or indoors. If you're always fatigued, having frequent headaches, vomiting, dizziness etc, visit your doctor. It may be CO poisoning or something else.
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