Irish singer Nadine Coyle revealed late last year that she suffered severe carbon monoxide poisoning in her Los Angeles home in 2015.
She is married to NFL player Jason Bell and has a daughter Anaìya, and was left feeling terrified after the incident last year. Luckily, her young daughter was not in the house at the time, because small children can be the first affected.
On Good Morning Britain, Coyle revealed that she was suffering severe chest pains, extreme fatigue, and memory loss while living in her home.
These symptoms are reflective of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can initially be similar to the flu.
The memory loss is probably a result of brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen to the brain. The brain’s memory center, the hippocampus, is particularly vulnerable because it is one of the last parts on the oxygen route to the brain. Therefore, it would be the most oxygen deprived.
Coyle reported that she would forget the word for certain things, such as table.
When Coyle’s blood work came back, she was told she had exposure to high levels of gas, but she still was not told that the culprit was carbon monoxide.
She managed to survive because her home was well ventilated. She discovered it was carbon monoxide when a gas engineer checked her house. The man saw that her boiler was faulty, that there was a crack in it.
She thought it might have been fatigue from traveling, or maybe it was a bug like the flu. That is probably the most dangerous part about carbon monoxide poisoning. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and the symptoms are flu-like: nausea, dizziness, fatigue. So, people may misattribute it to the flu or a bug. Then, they may lie down to get some rest and fall asleep while they are being poisoned with a deadly gas.
Luckily, Coyle had someone checking her house who discovered the crack in the furnace, the source of the carbon monoxide leak. Otherwise, the results could be deadly. This is why it’s so important to not only have carbon monoxide detectors near fuel-burning appliances, but also near each sleeping area in the home. This could be the only way to know that there is carbon monoxide in the home. It’s also important to replace the batteries regularly to ensure it’s working. Coyle said she now has three CO detectors in her home.
This story told us the very important prevention method for home owners. They have to inspect all of the possible carbon monoxide sources in their home in regular time.
Boiler or chimney leakage is an example that this gas can endanger our life.
So, set up your own schedule for inspection and checking off all household in your home, which use gasoline or gas as the fuel.