Carbon monoxide poisoning
KATHMANDU, DEC 20 -
Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless and it’s as easy to breathe in as unadulterated air. And now the dangerous gas, often present in smoke generated indoors, is being blamed for quite a few deaths in Nepal while charcoal is burnt in cramped bedrooms to ward off the winter chill.
On December 15, Danai Kumar, 23, a Jagadamba Steel Factory in Chorni-8, Parsa, died while 11 others were found unconscious after they set alight trays of coals to keep warm in a room without proper ventilation. Kumar died due to suffocation caused by smoke inhalation.
On December 13, two Chinese nationals were found dead in a hotel in Bhaktapur; the post-mortem report on Tuesday stated that they had died due to suffocation ‘most likely due to gaseous intoxication’.
There seems to be an uptick in the number of deaths being attributed to smoke inhalation this year.
SSP Ganesh KC says that three people were reported dead in 2012. The toll this year has already reached six in the last one week.
Experts believe that burning coal or briquettes in an enclosed space enables the concentration of carbon monoxide, a gas released during incomplete combustion. Once carbon monoxide is inhaled in the lungs, it binds with haemoglobin and that impedes haemoglobin’s ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body. Once the level of oxygen decreases, people die due to asphyxiation. Similarly, when coal is burned in closed spaces, the oxygen available in the surroundings is used up and the atmosphere is filled mostly with carbon dioxide and monoxide.
Carbon monoxide is also dangerous because of how it affects the brain. “Some people become restless and disoriented, while in some cases, it acts as a slow poison, killing them eventually,” says Dr Kabirnath Yogi, a chest specialist.
To prevent tragic consequences, Dr Yogi advises people not to huddle together in a room to sleep. He also wants them to make sure that at least one vent is kept open and that no burning object is present in a room where people are sleeping.
Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless and it’s as easy to breathe in as unadulterated air. And now the dangerous gas, often present in smoke generated indoors, is being blamed for quite a few deaths in Nepal while charcoal is burnt in cramped bedrooms to ward off the winter chill.
On December 15, Danai Kumar, 23, a Jagadamba Steel Factory in Chorni-8, Parsa, died while 11 others were found unconscious after they set alight trays of coals to keep warm in a room without proper ventilation. Kumar died due to suffocation caused by smoke inhalation.
On December 13, two Chinese nationals were found dead in a hotel in Bhaktapur; the post-mortem report on Tuesday stated that they had died due to suffocation ‘most likely due to gaseous intoxication’.
There seems to be an uptick in the number of deaths being attributed to smoke inhalation this year.
SSP Ganesh KC says that three people were reported dead in 2012. The toll this year has already reached six in the last one week.
Experts believe that burning coal or briquettes in an enclosed space enables the concentration of carbon monoxide, a gas released during incomplete combustion. Once carbon monoxide is inhaled in the lungs, it binds with haemoglobin and that impedes haemoglobin’s ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body. Once the level of oxygen decreases, people die due to asphyxiation. Similarly, when coal is burned in closed spaces, the oxygen available in the surroundings is used up and the atmosphere is filled mostly with carbon dioxide and monoxide.
Carbon monoxide is also dangerous because of how it affects the brain. “Some people become restless and disoriented, while in some cases, it acts as a slow poison, killing them eventually,” says Dr Kabirnath Yogi, a chest specialist.
To prevent tragic consequences, Dr Yogi advises people not to huddle together in a room to sleep. He also wants them to make sure that at least one vent is kept open and that no burning object is present in a room where people are sleeping.
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