Five adults were sent to hospital after being found unconscious in caravans in Rendalen on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoon, they are on the road to recovery. The police suspect coal poisoning. Crime scene technicians at the scene of the accident. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Accidents like this happen regularly. Usually due to a leak from gas appliances. The fire service says two warning devices can save lives. The symptoms Kullos, or carbon monoxide, is an invisible gas and if you are about to be poisoned you will often get a headache, feel dizzy and nauseous. Facts about carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning: Poisoning with the gas carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a highly toxic gas. It is tasteless, colorless and odorless, which makes it difficult to detect. Carbon monoxide can form in fires, propane-powered appliances, exhaust (from aggregates, cars, chainsaws etc.) and charcoal grills. Carbon monoxide is toxic because CO takes the place of oxygen in the red blood cells and in many other systems of the body. Carbon monoxide can cause everything from mild symptoms that go away on their own, to severe and fatal symptoms that require intensive treatment in hospital. Mild symptoms can be headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. More serious symptoms include confusion, irritability, reduced consciousness, fainting, palpitations, chest pain (angina), altered breathing, reduced blood pressure and heart rhythm disturbance. Late damage occurs. The severity of poisoning varies widely. Factors that come into play are the concentration of carbon monoxide and oxygen in the air, and how long one has been exposed to the gas. Source: Giftinfo.no The gas binds to the hemoglobins in the blood, which transport oxygen. So that you get a reduced oxygen transport in the body. Eventually, you may become confused, have palpitations and pass out. Some die from the injuries. Dag JacobsenSenior physician at GiftinformationenProfessor emeritus in poisoning medicine at the University of Oslo – You get a little intoxicated by the effect. This lack of oxygen means that you become uncritical and may not think that there is a leak of coal oxide nearby. That’s according to Dag Jacobsen, senior physician at Poison Information. He has extensive experience in treating patients with carbon monoxide poisoning. – It’s scary because you can neither smell nor taste the gas, which is also colourless. Many cases There are regular cases of carbon monoxide poisoning. Often in connection with gas appliances used for camping: The hunting trip could have ended in the death of Isak Dreyer Several families poisoned by carbon monoxide on a camping trip Two hunters sent to hospital with possible carbon monoxide poisoning Also at the cave festival in Oslo during the pandemic, several people were poisoned by carbon monoxide. Then the cause was an aggregate that used up the oxygen in the room: Oxygen and pressure chamber If someone has been poisoned with carbon dioxide, the most important treatment is to give the patient oxygen. The cave at St. Hanshaugen in Oslo where several people were injured by carbon monoxide poisoning after a party with a generator in 2020. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB Get them into hospital and see how the oxygen conditions are in the body. In serious cases, patients are sent to Ullevål Hospital and treated in a pressure chamber. Two important whistleblowers The fire service believes that simple steps can limit the danger of coal poisoning: – Unfortunately, the events in Rendalen show the fact that it is something that must be taken seriously. That’s what Sigurd Folgerø Dalen of the Oslo Fire and Rescue Service says. Sigurd Folgerø DalenCommunications manager Oslo Fire and Rescue Service. Recommends both gas and coal warning if you are going to use gas for camping. He adds that the most important thing is to ensure good ventilation when using gas appliances. That the device can actually be used indoors and is in order: – What is important to us in this is also that all wagons and vans should have both a gas detector and a CO detector fitted. – So there are two different things? – There are two different things. A gas detector is mounted below. The gas seeps down, the gas is heavier than air. The CO detector registers the carbon monoxide content in the air. And usually mounted higher up than a gas detector does. One of the carbon monoxide detectors on the market. Photo: Claes Ohlson For more detailed information, the Institute of Public Health has also produced a guide on how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. You can read it here. Published 11.06.2024, at 16.00 Updated 11.06.2024, at 16.06
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Invisible gas puts lives at risk – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
