Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week: Children Are at Greater Risk For CO Poisoning; Know How to Protect Your Family

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Children, infants and unborn babies are more vulnerable to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning than healthy adults, according to toxicologists and medical professionals. Younger family members are particularly susceptible due to their higher metabolic rates -- meaning they require more oxygen and use it faster than adults. Carbon monoxide even in small amounts works to restrict oxygen in the bloodstream thus starving a child's tissues and organs of what is needed to function and develop properly.

"Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause neurological problems, learning disabilities, memory lose and personality changes in children and can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth for women exposed during pregnancy," said Dr. Marc Bayer, medical director, Connecticut Poison Control Center. "Because of the higher oxygen requirements of smaller bodies, carbon monoxide's interference with oxygen delivery can lead to permanent damage to a child's developing nervous system," he said.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 1994 nearly 1,900 children under the age of 6 were reported to have been exposed to carbon monoxide. Additionally, approximately 35 children die each year from CO poisoning -- although medical and health professionals believe the injury and fatality statistics are under-reported due to the tendency of CO poisoning symptoms to mimic viral illnesses like the flu and the lack of a national reporting system.

Monitored press reports of accidental carbon monoxide deaths chronicle 59 fatalities of children 14 and under from September of 1994 to May 1996, indicating there may be more children affected than current statistics show.

Carbon monoxide is a natural by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel is burned. Common sources in the home include gas or oil furnaces or hot water heaters, gas clothes dryers, gas ovens and ranges, fireplaces, space heaters, barbecue grills operating in enclosed areas and cars left running in attached garages.

Young children are also vulnerable to misdiagnosis because they cannot fully explain the onset, progression and severity of their symptoms. Additionally, because children spend most of their time in the home, they are more likely to be exposed to carbon monoxide produced by gas, oil, wood or propane burning appliances and heating systems.

"Because this toxin is invisible to human senses and the early poisoning symptoms look like other common problems such as the flu, the best way to know if a leak is present is to equip the home with carbon monoxide detectors that have an audible alarm," said Bayer.

To provide an early warning of carbon monoxide dangers, First Alert(R), the nation's leading brand of carbon monoxide detectors, has developed a battery powered detector that will sense carbon monoxide at lower concentrations than plug-in models are designed to detect. The detector will continue to operate in the event of a power outage, a time when alternative heat sources are commonly used and can be mounted out of reach of little fingers -- important to children with families.

Families with children, pregnant women, elderly people or anyone with heart or lung disorders may want the added protection of the First Alert biosensor technology. The elderly and people with heart or lung disorders are at greater risk of injury or death from carbon monoxide because CO can aggravate a pre-existing condition of restricted oxygen flow in the bloodstream.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that every home in America install at least one carbon monoxide detector with an audible alarm, located near the sleeping area. Additional detectors on every level and in every bedroom provide an extra measure of safety.

CONTACT: Cathy Berner or Debbie Hanson of Wheatley Blair, Inc., 312-337-7773.