Sometimes the most dangerous threats are the things we cana��t see.A� The gas called carbon monoxide falls into this category.A� Every year, over one hundred thousand carbon monoxide incidences are reported in the United States.A� Four hundred Americans die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year.A� Alarm Systems can help keep families safe.
What is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas.A� It is extremely dangerous because it is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, making it virtually undetectable.A� The toxic gas is produced when an incomplete combustion occurs.A� This means that there wasna��t enough oxygen to allow an organic material to completely oxidize.A� If there was enough oxygen, the product would be carbon dioxide, the substance exhaled by all human beings.A� Different levels of exposure result in different severities of symptoms.A� Acute but mild carbon monoxide poisoning causes headaches, vertigo, confusion, and flu symptoms.A� Greater exposure can damage the heart and central nervous system and can lead to death.A� Even low exposure over a period of time can cause symptoms such as depression and memory loss.A� To treat an exposure, the individual is given 100 percent oxygen or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.A� Either way, the high amount of oxygen acts as an antidote to restore the bodya��s normal oxygen levels.
Keeping Your Family Safe
Since this gas is undetectable, individuals and families often do not know they are in danger.A� House fires, furnaces, electric generators, and automobiles all have the potential to create large amounts of carbon monoxide.A� Quality alarm systems Stockton CA companies can equip a home with carbon monoxide detectors.A� These professionals can survey the home and place these detectors in the optimum locations.A� These detectors work like smoke detectors, alerting household members to a potential problem before they realize it is happening or while they are sleeping.
