In fact, carbon monoxide is one of the leading causes of poisoning deaths in the United States, claiming approximately 250 lives accidentally each year, while also posing a serious health threat for many thousands of individuals and families. One of the most dangerous aspects of carbon monoxide is that it is not ordinarily detected by our senses. As a colorless, tasteless, and odorless gas, its poisonous effect on the human body is silent and subtle. It can happen in minutes, as is often the case with automobile-related poisonings, or can take many hours. Its effects are often misdiagnosed or even overlooked, and some people have been known to suffer from poisoning continuously for months.
Poisoning begins as easily as breathing.
With each breath, carbon monoxide enters the lungs where it then bonds with the hemoglobin in the bloodstream 200 times more tightly than oxygen, thereby displacing the vital oxygen normally transported by the hemoglobin to cells throughout the body. In addition, a toxic compound known as carboxyhemoglobin is formed which causes symptoms similar to the flu or food poisoning. Confusing CO poisoning with the flu is the main reason most people do not realize that they are being poisoned at all, especially during the winter, since headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and nausea are all pretty much an accepted part of flu season. Many individuals pop a few aspirin and put up with the symptoms for months, which generally seem to disappear once Spring and warmer weather arrives. More severe concentrations of carbon monoxide in the blood can lead to vomiting, unconsciousness, permanent neurological damage, and even death.