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Silent Killer Symptoms Mimic Hangover, Experts Warn
18 Jul
Summary
- Carbon monoxide symptoms resemble cold, flu, or hangover effects.
- Nearly 27,000 carbon monoxide incidents occurred last summer.
- BBQs, pizza ovens, and camping gear can emit CO if misused.
A carbon monoxide (CO) safeguarding specialist is alerting the public to the dangers of the "silent killer," noting that its symptoms can be mistaken for a hangover, cold, or flu. These symptoms include headaches, nausea, dizziness, and loss of consciousness. This warning comes as nearly 27,000 CO incidents were recorded last summer.
Improper storage of items like BBQs, pizza ovens, and camping equipment, particularly bringing used BBQs indoors, can lead to CO emissions. Holiday lets, both domestically and abroad, may not always have CO alarms, prompting advice to check accommodations or bring a personal detector.
Carbon monoxide is undetectable by sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste, making CO detectors crucial. The specialist from Cadent highlighted that engineers respond to CO incidents daily, with some tragically being too late. Property owners are advised to install CO alarms in rooms with fuel-burning appliances.
If CO poisoning is suspected, individuals should immediately leave the property, go outside, and seek urgent medical attention. They can also call the National Gas Emergency number for free on 0800 111 999. Data on these incidents is collected by the CORA platform.
