newjerseynewsroom.com

BY CAROL ABAYA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Winter heralds closed windows in houses, apartments, and cars, which can result in the build up of dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. And of course there are those cozy fires in fireplaces -- with hot chocolate or a hot toddy.

Carbon monoxide is a silent killer.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas that has no color, no smell, and no taste. CO is made when fuel is burned. This may be wood, coal, oil or gas: gas stoves and ovens, car exhausts, charcoal grills, furnaces, gas or kerosene heaters, and clogged fireplace chimneys.

Symptoms of CO poisoning include: sleepiness, confusion, nausea, headaches, feeling tired, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and even death.

Nicole Taite of The NJ Poison Information and Education System warns that while extra caution is needed during the winter months, care is needed year round to prevent family members from being poisoned. “Every eight seconds someone needs help from a poison center,” she says. The NJ Poison System receives 70,000 calls a year.

The NJ Poison Information and Education System has live people answering telephone calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Experts in more than 150 languages are available to answer questions about all kinds of poisons, from carbon monoxide to poison ivy and oak (this time of year), medication mixing reactions, household cleaning supplies,.garden products, and bites and stings from bees, wasps, and other bugs. Hearing impaired can also get help. Call 1-800-222-1222 for the NJ center, which is located in Newark. The service is free and information is kept confidential.

Taite is a community outreach and education specialist. Taite says that especially during winter months, people should never leave a car running in the garage; never use a stove or oven for heating your home; never burn charcoal indoors; and clean chimney flues every year.

When you do get sick and suspect some sort of poisoning, she says, “Get out of the house and into fresh air immediately. Call 911 and have your local fire department make a safety check. Don’t go back into the house (apartment) until the fire department says it is safe. And, of course, she emphasizes that everyone should install a CO detector on each level of the house, near bedrooms and the kitchen. It should be noted that oil furnaces do not give off CO, but a different gas that is not detected on most detectors.