Youngstown Ohio Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

In the Youngstown Ohio Carbon Monoxide Poisoning there were dangerous levels of carbon monoxide found in an area home, and two were rescued from the home, according to WKBN 27.

The police, responding to a 911 call, carried a woman and her landlord from the home. After hearing screams, the police broke down the door and rescued Heather McKenzie, her cat, and her landlord Abdul Alnizami.

Youngstown Ohio Carbon Monoxide Poisoning two were found sweating profusely and nearly incoherent, according to police. These symptoms are consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning, which include sweating, confusion, and loss of consciousness.

The source of the carbon monoxide in Youngstown Ohio Carbon Monoxide Poisoning was a generator running in the basement, which filled the home with the toxic gas. Local firefighters tested the air and found that the carbon monoxide levels were dangerously high, 467 parts per million. According to the CPSC, sustained levels above 150 to 200 parts per million can cause disorientation, loss of consciousness, and death.

It can be hard to know that carbon monoxide is the culprit of an illness because it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It can be mistaken for the flu as the symptoms can be confused with flu-like symptoms. It kills because carbon monoxide starts to bind to hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body.

More than 400 people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning in the U.S. from accidental, non-fire related carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the CDC.

The two victims of this carbon monoxide poisoning were put into hyperbaric oxygen chambers at St. Elizabeth’s Health Center. In one study, patients who were put into hyperbaric oxygen chambers had 46 percent less frequent cognitive sequelae after six weeks than the group who was treated with normobaric oxygen. The difference in cognitive sequelae remained at six and twelve months. The cognitive sequelae included finding tasks that require executive function, memory, and attention or concentration challenging or impossible. Hyperbaric oxygen was shown to reduce cognitive sequelae both in the weeks following the poisoning and in the long term.

The two people rescued from the home were reportedly in stable condition by Wednesday morning. Even some of the police officers went to the hospital and were checked out for breathing the fumes. They were allowed to go home from the hospital, and two returned to work Wednesday night.