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Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning
Another
Reason Not To Smoke
Poison Control
The Bottom Line
It is possible for
heavy smokers to develop carbon monoxide poisoning. This can be severe enough
to require treatment in an emergency room.
The Full Story
The patient was 48
years old.
She went to the
emergency room because she felt dizzy and had a headache.
Doctors performed
an extensive medical workup and found that her symptoms were caused by high
carbon monoxide levels in her blood.
A week later, she
again went to the emergency room with dizziness and a headache.
Once again, she was
diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. The local gas company had examined
her home and could not find a source of carbon monoxide.
The reason for both
episodes of carbon monoxide poisoning was heavy tobacco smoking, more than two
packs a day.
Everyone has a
small amount of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream.
Smokers usually
have more than three times as much as non-smokers. This patient's level was
more than fifteen times that of a typical non-smoker.
Our red blood cells
carry oxygen to every part of our body. When carbon monoxide enters the
bloodstream, it attaches to red blood cells and prevents oxygen from doing so.
The carbon monoxide
is then circulated in the blood instead of oxygen, preventing the brain, heart,
and other body organs from receiving the oxygen they need.
Most cases of
carbon monoxide poisoning are caused by fire, an engine running in an enclosed
space, or from malfunctioning gas or wood-burning appliances.
This patient smoked
so many cigarettes, so close together, that nearly a quarter of the oxygen in
her bloodstream was replaced by carbon monoxide.
Doctors treated her
immediate symptoms by giving her oxygen. The only prevention was for her to
stop smoking.
If someone needs
just one more reason to give up tobacco, perhaps this could be it: distressing
symptoms, two trips to the emergency room in a short period of time, lots of
poking, prodding, and testing - and a big bill at the end.
Prevention Tips
Not smoking is the
only way to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning from heavy tobacco smoking.
For information
about carbon monoxide poisoning, call Poison Control. Poison specialists are
there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1-800-222-1222.
Rose Ann Gould Soloway, RN, BSN, MSEd, DABAT emerita
Clinical Toxicologist
Clinical Toxicologist
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