Mr. Tran’s family in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China had a terrible night when they were all poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO) after dinner at home.
According to a report from the Wenzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Mr. Tran’s family had dinner together at home. At night, all five members had symptoms of dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and loss of consciousness, so they went to the hospital for treatment.
Initially, doctors suspected food poisoning. However, test results showed that the whole family had severe carbon monoxide poisoning. Blood tests showed that the carboxyhemoglobin levels of the family members were high, 12.8% higher than normal.
The doctor’s diagnosis was hard for Mr. Tran to believe. He recalled that the family only used a gas stove to cook at home. After eating, they went to bed immediately. However, the doctor noted one detail: due to the hot weather, they had turned on the air conditioner all day and kept the doors closed.
Dr. Tri Dong – Head of the hospital’s Emergency Department, said that Mr. Tran’s family used a gas stove in a closed space, with the door closed and the air conditioner on continuously. This led to the accumulation of CO gas, and poor ventilation caused the whole house to be poisoned.
Acute CO poisoning is a state of acute oxygen deficiency caused by inhaling a large amount of CO gas in a short period of time, the main symptom is cerebral hypoxia. When carbon monoxide enters the blood, it will quickly combine with hemoglobin, forming carboxyhemoglobin, preventing the combination of oxygen with hemoglobin, causing hemoglobin to lose its ability to transport oxygen, thereby causing hypoxia to the organs.
If not treated promptly, CO poisoning can lead to death.
CO poisoning primarily manifests as symptoms of oxygen deprivation in various systems. The more severe the poisoning, the more dangerous the symptoms. The degree of poisoning is related to the concentration of carbon monoxide the patient inhales, the length of exposure to the environment, and the person’s own health status.
Mild poisoning will cause brain hypoxia and symptoms such as dizziness and headache, vertigo, tinnitus, nausea and vomiting may occur. Moderate poisoning has additional symptoms of facial flushing, fatigue, profuse sweating, coma or confusion. Severe poisoning patients may experience pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, coma, impaired consciousness, and even death.
Doctors remind people to pay attention to good ventilation when using gas stoves or other energy-burning appliances. In case of suspected poisoning, take three important measures:
– Move immediately out of the contaminated area to a place with fresh air.
– Open windows to increase ventilation.
– Seek medical help immediately even if symptoms seem mild.
Source: cafebiz.vn
Source: Vietnam Insider