today my grandma ran her car in the garage with the door open, the whole house stunk like exhaust, but i didn't pay much mine to it. Well i started to get really tired and pretty much stayed that way the rest of the day.. it's been about 6 hours since that happened and i'm wondering if sleeping it off will help... it wasn't constant exposure or anything... i'm fatigued, mildly confused and it kind of feels like my eyes can't focus. I haven't had any head aches or anything, but i have had a stiff feeling and my breathing is mildly shallow.. but all in all i just feel tired.
I assume this is carbon monoxide. does this sound serious at all? or the kind of thing i should expect to bounce back from with a simple nights sleep?

comments tonight would be great.

I'd get out of there and call the fire department. I know it sounds extreme, but CM is scary stuff. I assume you know it's odorless and cumulative. You'll want to get lots of fresh are and, at a minimum, open the windows in your house. If you have natural gas appliances (or even older electric appliances) I'd recommend you get a detector at Target or something. Good luck.

you should be fine in a couple of days i think. if your grandmother starts doing this on a regular basis, i'd suggest getting a carbon monoxide detector. i believe they are around $15-$20. ours saved us. we lived in a ratty apartment for 13 years. we felt like we had the flu most of the cold weather season (worse in the winter when you are cooped up). anyway, my mom borrowed a friend's detector to test it out. we found it was hitting around 15 (which is dangerous). so we called the local firestation to have them check it out, and you will not believe this, but it hit 45! which by all acounts should have killed us years ago. thankfully we had a very drafty place.
just on occasion i don't think it will be horribly bad for you, but on a long term basis, it's nasty. we had the furnace fixed over 4 years and we are still feeling the mess it caused

you should be fine in a couple of days i think. if your grandmother starts doing this on a regular basis, i'd suggest getting a carbon monoxide detector. i believe they are around $15-$20. ours saved us. we lived in a ratty apartment for 13 years. we felt like we had the flu most of the cold weather season (worse in the winter when you are cooped up). anyway, my mom borrowed a friend's detector to test it out. we found it was hitting around 15 (which is dangerous). so we called the local firestation to have them check it out, and you will not believe this, but it hit 45! which by all acounts should have killed us years ago. thankfully we had a very drafty place.
just on occasion i don't think it will be horribly bad for you, but on a long term basis, it's nasty. we had the furnace fixed over 4 years and we are still feeling the mess it caused


You were 10 above OSHA's acceptable standard of 35 ppm. 50 can be lethal to humans. I'd say you guys are very lucky. Did you go to the Doctor to get a checkup. I've always heard that Carbon Monoxide remains in your system for a long period of time and the buildup effects are cumulative (as you stated, being exposed for 5 minutes is different than 8 hours a day for 10 days).

You were 10 above OSHA's acceptable standard of 35 ppm. 50 can be lethal to humans. I'd say you guys are very lucky. Did you go to the Doctor to get a checkup. I've always heard that Carbon Monoxide remains in your system for a long period of time and the buildup effects are cumulative (as you stated, being exposed for 5 minutes is different than 8 hours a day for 10 days).



i think we went to the doctor, but i don't remember. i know it wasn't safe for me to give blood donations. our family doctor always thought it was the flu or strep throat( which it does mimic, so always watch).
my youngest sister and our family cat always had it the worst because they were always over the heater vent. we can't prove it, but we think that some over her learning disability is from the long term exposure, as the health problems of myself and my other sister. the cat tend to throw up more in the winter and she'd lose her fur. she also became really swollen in her belly area. (when we moved it went away).

i think we went to the doctor, but i don't remember. i know it wasn't safe for me to give blood donations. our family doctor always thought it was the flu or strep throat( which it does mimic, so always watch).
my youngest sister and our family cat always had it the worst because they were always over the heater vent. we can't prove it, but we think that some over her learning disability is from the long term exposure, as the health problems of myself and my other sister. the cat tend to throw up more in the winter and she'd lose her fur. she also became really swollen in her belly area. (when we moved it went away).


Your landlord is quite lucky that you didn't take him/her to court!

today my grandma ran her car in the garage with the door open, the whole house stunk like exhaust, but i didn't pay much mine to it. Well i started to get really tired and pretty much stayed that way the rest of the day.. it's been about 6 hours since that happened and i'm wondering if sleeping it off will help... it wasn't constant exposure or anything... i'm fatigued, mildly confused and it kind of feels like my eyes can't focus. I haven't had any head aches or anything, but i have had a stiff feeling and my breathing is mildly shallow.. but all in all i just feel tired.
I assume this is carbon monoxide. does this sound serious at all? or the kind of thing i should expect to bounce back from with a simple nights sleep?

comments tonight would be great.

Annually, due to CO exposure:

Tens of thousands of people seek medical attention or lose several days, weeks, months of normal activity
More than 500 people die through unintentional exposure
As many a 2000 people die intentionally using CO
It has been known for decades that CO poisoning can produce lasting health harm, mainly through its destructive effects on the central nervous system. Some studies found that 25-40% of people died during acute exposure, while 15-40% of the survivors suffered immediate or delayed neuropsychological deficit.
Now, an emerging body of evidence suggests that longer exposures to lower levels of CO, ie. chronic CO poisoning, are capable of producing a myriad of debilitating residual effects that may continue for days, weeks, months and even years.

Does anyone have information about the long-term effects of exposure, particularly recurrent exposure to carbon monoxide from a malfunctioning automobile engine?

How long does CO stay tightly linked to haemeoglobin?

Are there any serum/urinary tests for long-term exposure?

In the book Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases and Toxins, Dr. Thomas Levy relates a case of Dr. Klenner who was brought in unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning. He gave him something like 20 grams of vitamin C intraveneously and the man was conscious in 10 minutes because vitamin C breaks down or protects against the effects of CM in the body. So if you think you have been exposed I think it is a good idea to take vitamin C to help overcome the effects more quickly. It would probably take at least 5 grams to make a difference.

Does anyone have a source for what an MRI would look like for a person who suffered carbon monoxide intoxication in the past?

I have question. If a car is parked in front of the house and it has single paned windows, if the car is warming up, can carbon monoxide get into the house? I am so completely paranoid of this. I worry about it all the time. I have a garage but if i park my car in it, I always back it out first and warm it up away from the house. My boyfriend is kind enough to do the same. The problem is with our renters downstairs. One of them warmed up his car for 1/2 an hour one time. i was so upset. That is a ridiculus amount of time for anyone to warm up their car. He wasn't even in the car, he started it and then went inside and obviously forgot about it. After that we asked him to back his car away from the house to warm it up. he is normally parked 3 car widths away from the house. Do you think this poses a danger ????? he leaves for work at 7:00 am and i never wake up till 10 or 11.However every morning I wake up when he leaves and worry that carbon monoxide is getting in the bedroom, and i can't sleep and sometimes i open up the bedroom window for a while to air it out, because i am paranoid. Anyway, it is probably just an irrational fear but i can't help it, I worry. if anyone has any info to make me feel more at ease, i would really appreciate it. Thanks.

From my blood pressure tester's instruction book:
"For most people, mild symptoms (headache, nausea, flu like symptoms) generally will be felt after several hours exposure to 100 ppm CO."

The chart shows DEATH or COMA and PERMANENT brain damage at 300 ppm for 4 hours.

And myriad less deadly symptoms between.

At 1500 ppm death occurs in 20 minutes.

Don't confuse smelly exhaust fumes in a ventilated place (sickening but not dangerous) with odorless fumes in a confined space (DEADLY CO.)

In order of dangerous exposure:
Headache (least)
Nausea (more)
Drowsy (BAD)
Collapse...say goodnight, Gracie!

FoolsGold,

I don't think you'd see past exposure on an MRI, and I think the attatched hemoglobin remains non-functional til the cell is destoyed in the normal cell replacement process, getting to be a lesser amount day by day. The average life of a red blood cell is around 4 months or so? Maybe the damaged cells are killed more quickly, or actually poisoned themselves??(A Guess)

Does anyone have a source for what an MRI would look like for a person who suffered carbon monoxide intoxication in the past?
An MRI for a person who has been exposed to even low levels of CO could look like the MRI for a person with Multiple Sclerosis.

Please see this site for more info.
Dr. Penney is a leading doctor and researcher for CO
http://www.penneylibrary.com/ChronicCO/coSyndrome1.htm

I am one who suffers from both of these things.....

From my blood pressure tester's instruction book:
"For most people, mild symptoms (headache, nausea, flu like symptoms) generally will be felt after several hours exposure to 100 ppm CO."

The chart shows DEATH or COMA and PERMANENT brain damage at 300 ppm for 4 hours.

And myriad less deadly symptoms between.

At 1500 ppm death occurs in 20 minutes.

Don't confuse smelly exhaust fumes in a ventilated place (sickening but not dangerous) with odorless fumes in a confined space (DEADLY CO.)

In order of dangerous exposure:
Headache (least)
Nausea (more)
Drowsy (BAD)
Collapse...say goodnight, Gracie!

FoolsGold,

I don't think you'd see past exposure on an MRI, and I think the attatched hemoglobin remains non-functional til the cell is destoyed in the normal cell replacement process, getting to be a lesser amount day by day. The average life of a red blood cell is around 4 months or so? Maybe the damaged cells are killed more quickly, or actually poisoned themselves??(A Guess)



CO poisoning, even at low levels can have effects that last a LONG time. When CO is attached to our blood cells, we get less oxygen...meaning our brains are being deprived of oxygen....this results in BRAIN DAMAGE!!!! Take it from someone who knows....experience..

For more info, please see this website..... http://www.penneylibrary.com/ChronicCO/coSyndrome1.htm

I urge everyone suspecting CO exposure to check it out. AND SEE A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY.
I didn't, since I felt fine, but regret it as I have no "proof" that damage resulted from exposure.