More than being an odorless and colorless gas that most textbooks introduce Carbon Monoxide as, this is one carbon rich gas that can literally choke o..
More than being an odorless and colorless gas that most textbooks introduce Carbon Monoxide as, this is one carbon rich gas that can literally choke one's breath and cause fatal diseases. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is not a theoretical case anymore and has been behind thousands of deaths worldwide every year, especially in areas where cooking still involves the use of burning charcoal and wood in confined spaces.
Combustion is a major source of Carbon Monoxide and the uncountable number of cars, trucks, buses and other automobiles running throughout the world burn fossil fuels and hence keep on piling CO (carbon monoxide) on. When the fumes rich in carbon monoxide get enclosed in a limited space, the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning become extremely real. People and animals forced to breathe in an atmosphere saturated with carbon monoxide run the risk of being poisoned very quickly.
Among alarming symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache and nausea along with chest pain. In case a person inhales too much carbon monoxide, he/she is bound to have difficulty in breathing. Such a case can easily lead to loss of consciousness and even death. Since the symptoms are also indicators of some common diseases, there is every chance that the sufferer would not think of it as a case of carbon monoxide poisoning. Thus, it becomes important to be on the preventive route rather than the reactive mode.
Red blood cells of the body have a tendency to pick of carbon monoxide from the air a lot quicker than oxygen. This means that in a carbon monoxide rich atmosphere, one would be struggling with insufficient oxygen in the body and excess carbon monoxide which would further damage the tissues. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a grave danger to human health, and proper knowledge of the sources of carbon monoxide can enable people in staying away from dangerous environments where such threats become prominent.