“Every city across the country that has successfully renewed and revitalized itself points to a robust education system as its fundamental key to success.” Alan Autry (1952, bio link)
Education is a key to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
This news effort is about carbon monoxide (CO). It is written to aid health technicians describe CO poisoning to their patients, raise their awareness and help vitalize inauguration of the preventative measures associated with eliminating or controlling the poisoning source. Raising awareness to CO hazards is a big challenge. We hope to raise your awareness immediately and every day.
This daily education material is also intended to encourage the heating and air conditioning technician, the boiler fitter, the building and home inspector, the fuel supplier, the fire and emergency response teams and the manufacturers of heating systems and combustion gas testing devices to improve their performances in the team effort of preventing carbon monoxide poisoning.
And while we are at it, shouldn’t we be educating the roofers and insulators and those responsible for repairing storm damages about their role in this effort? Unfortunately you can find those kinds of stories here too where their role was ill-informed and the result was illness or worse for the people they were serving.
Children have their role too. We make good efforts to educate them about the hazards of fire but hardly mention carbon monoxide.
We are all vulnerable to carbon monoxide but how much do we know?
Take the time ask yourself.
· Does it make sense to send out emergency responders without adequate protection to protect themselves on an emergency call to a residence so that they now have to be rescued? You can find those stories in the history of this blog.
· Does it make sense for those responsible for installing and servicing combustion heating systems (including gas cooking systems) to do their work without testing and verifying the exhaust gasses to be as clean and efficient as the manufacturer of the device claims that it is and that it maintains this safety and efficiency through the life of the system?
· Does it make sense for lawmakers to enact their powers to make laws on carbon monoxide alarms that only protect renters but not the children of ill-informed or stubborn or cheap homeowners?
· Does it make sense to offer medications for depression or flulike symptoms and send people back into the environment without even a mention of carbon monoxide? You can find those stories archived here as well.
It is so academic.
I conducted a brief 40 minute presentation to over 200 general medical practitioners and asked them if they knew the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. One doctor was offended at the simple “academic” question from a non-doctor. I asked him and the others to go along with the exercise and reveal to me the symptoms.
Collectively they offered the standard list of symptoms of headache, nausea, changes in heart rate, depression, loss of hearing, dizziness, blurry vision, cardiac arrest, disorientation, respiratory failure, weakness, vomiting, coma, painful discomfort, loss of consciousness, muscle aches & soreness, memory disorders, seizures, chronic tiredness, slurry speech and the one they all remember from their 15 minutes of carbon monoxide education they received in college, the classic “cherry red complexions”.
With over 200 in my audience I asked them all to raise their hands if they had one or more patients a day who presented one or more of these symptoms. They all raised their hands. They were asked again only with two patients. Again, they all raised their hands.
I then asked them to raise their hands if they tested their patients for CO poisoning when presenting these symptoms. Not a one did. I looked at my offended physician and asked him, “How academic is it if you don’t test?” That is over 2000 patients a week just for this audience.
Four doctors called me that afternoon and asked if I would go test their patients homes for carbon monoxide. These doctors recognized the symptoms in their patients, but when they called me they still hadn’t tested for CO poisoning.
It comes down to very simple responses, “If you don’t test, you don’t know. If you don’t test, you are guessing. If you don’t teach it, they will never know until it is too late.” Bob Dwyer, CSME Carbon Monoxide Safety.
CO News Links
New study affirms pulse CO oxymetry for carbon monoxide poisoning assessments
Sacramento Bee
A new study in Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology shows that noninvasive carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®) and methemoglobin (SpMet®) measurements with Masimo rainbow® Pulse CO-Oximetry™ are accurate and conclude they can be used as an effective first screening test with emergency room patients suspected of suffering carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. (See the non-invasive testing device)
United Kingdom
Charity Launches Summer CO Awareness Campaign
OilFiredUp
Mention Carbon Monoxide (CO) to almost anyone and immediately they'll think of the potential dangers posed by biomass, LPG, mains gas, oil and solid fuel boilers. However, most people will probably fail to mention barbeques, camping stoves and camping ...
· Please take CARBON MONOXIDE SAFETY CARE during all holiday and everyday activities.
· Carbon Monoxide Survivor A website made by poisoning survivors that brings a view that can only come from those that know what it is like to have been poisoned - as well as live with the long term impact.
· Consider low level protection for carbon monoxide and smoldering fire detection problems; don't leave anyone behind.
National Conference of State Legislatures
Carbon Monoxide Detectors State Statutes
Twenty-five U.S. states have statutes that require carbon monoxide detectors in certain residential buildings. Updated Nov. 2011
Alaska | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Florida | Georgia | Illinois | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts| Michigan | Minnesota | Montana | New Jersey | New Hampshire | New York | North Carolina | Oregon | Rhode Island | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin | West Virginia
Google Maps to reference the locations referenced in these Internet headlines.
The following companies are acknowledged for their continued support of carbon monoxide safety education and this daily news blog. They may just have what you are looking for.
Fieldpiece
The Energy Conservatory
IntelliTec Colleges
CO Experts
Masimo (See the non-invasive RAD-57)
Mahugh Fire & Safety
TPI - Test Products International
ESCO
Institute
Every Day is Carbon Monoxide Safety Day!
