Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning
Vancouver: Nineteen year old Arlene Nguyen won’t forget the day she was poisoned by carbon monoxide. “I was home with my brother and we both started shaking, become dizzy and lightheaded, and our speech was slurred.” Fortunately, Arlene was able to call 911 and both she and her brother were rushed to Vancouver General Hospital where they were treated in the hyperbaric chamber. Arlene and her brother were among the 36 patients treated in VGH’S hyperbaric chamber for carbon monoxide poisoning last year. Several other patients were seen in emergency or admitted for higher levels of care. “Most cases of carbon monoxide poisoning are preventable,” says Dr. Bruce Campana, a hyperbaric physician at Vancouver General Hospital. “Whether it’s the gas in your furnace, the wood in your fireplace or the propane in your stove, if it burns a fossil fuel, it produces carbon monoxide.” Vancouver Coastal Health sees more cases of carbon monoxide in the winter because people are using their furnaces and fireplaces to keep warm. However, carbon monoxide poisoning can occur at any time of the year, and people can even be overcome by carbon monoxide when water-skiing behind a boat.
Carbon monoxide is often called the silent killer because it doesn’t smell, it’s invisible and if you inhale too much, it can be deadly. Vancouver General Hospital has the only government-approved and medically-supervised public hyperbaric chamber in BC, and receives patients from across the province.
The hyperbaric chamber looks like a submarine, but it’s a high-tech piece of medical equipment where the atmospheric pressure can be raised or lowered by compressors, allowing the operators to increase blood-oxygen levels. “Increasing oxygen in the blood of carbon monoxide patients helps get rid of carbon monoxide and promotes healing,” says Dr. Bruce Campana. “While we are grateful to have this unique medical device, prevention is the key.
Arlene Nguyen’s family now has working carbon monoxide detectors in their Vancouver home. “Being poisoned by carbon monoxide was definitely a wakeup call,” says Arlene. “It happened so quickly; I urge everyone to get a carbon monoxide detector.”
Vancouver Coastal Health is responsible for the delivery of $3.6 billion in community, hospital and residential care to more than one million people in communities including: Richmond, Vancouver, the North Shore, Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky corridor, Powell River, Bella Bella and Bella Coola. VCH also provides specialized care and services for people throughout BC, and is the province’s hub of healthcare education and research.