Niles Carbon Monoxide Can Look Like Something Else

One of the issues with carbon monoxide is that it can look like other illnesses. In the Niles carbon monoxide poisoning, one person reported that they thought a child had drowned, according to the Huffington Post article. The Quality Inn in Niles, MI was the site of the carbon monoxide death in a child. The person said the child was lying unresponsive on the floor, so they at first assumed it was a drowning. It was near a pool, and an unconscious person plus a pool must mean a drowning, right?

Well, no. The carbon monoxide came from the pool heater, rising to deadly levels. And there was no carbon monoxide detector by the pool, according to the Huffington Post. On top of that, the victims were children. Carbon monoxide affects children at a faster rate than adults, simply because of the size of their bodies.

It seems simple enough, but carbon monoxide poisoning can be mistaken for other illnesses all the time. The symptoms are often called “flu-like.” The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. Can you imagine feeling this way at home with no carbon monoxide detectors to warn you that it is a deadly gas, not the flu? In all likelihood, you would go to bed and try to sleep it off. But this could be a deadly decision. With levels as high as the Niles carbon monoxide poisoning (800 ppm), this could cause death in two to three hours, according to this table.

Another illness that carbon monoxide poisoning looks like is food poisoning. The nausea and vomiting could signal to the victim that they may have food poisoning, not carbon monoxide poisoning. Again, they may try to sleep it off, which can be dangerous, especially with high levels of CO. The best way to distinguish between carbon monoxide poisoning and some other illness is to have a carbon monoxide detector to alert you that it is a dangerous gas not a routine illness. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It is not like you can smell a strong odor or see the fumes filling your house, your hotel room, or your business.

Carbon monoxide detectors are absolutely essential in these places. They can be purchased relatively inexpensively at the hardware store. Most states now require that you put CO detectors in these places. CO detectors by law are required in new construction of hotels in Michigan in each area a fuel burning appliance is present, but we know that it is not enough just to put a CO alarm in the boiler room. It has to be where the people are, so that they can hear the alarm go off.

One hotel guest in the Niles carbon monoxide poisoning thought that the victim was unconscious due to drowning. The fact that it was carbon monoxide poisoning probably never crossed his or her mind at first, especially without an alarm going off. It can be mistakened, as we’ve seen, for the flu or food poisoning as well. This is a dangerous mistake to make. It makes me wonder if there is not enough awareness of the problem of carbon monoxide poisoning. Perhaps there is not enough awareness of the fact that there needs to be carbon monoxide detectors where the people are. Hopefully the national media coverage of this Niles carbon monoxide poisoning will help bring attention to this fact.