Carbon monoxide is diagnosed by a special blood test. It is not detected by routine blood tests. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, you need to be tested while you are ill. Carbon monoxide does not stay in the blood stream long. If you are tested when you do not have symptoms, chances are that the carbon monoxide will not be detected.
Treatment depends on the amount of carbon monoxide found in the blood and the symptoms.
Oxygen is the antidote for carbon monoxide. Fresh air is the main treatment for very mild cases of carbon monoxide in healthy people. As you breathe in fresh air, you are also breathing out carbon monoxide. For more serious cases, oxygen is administered at the hospital to increase the elimination of the carbon monoxide from the body. People with heart disease or serious exposures need heart monitoring or an electrocardiogram to make sure the heart has not been injured.