The Night The Cat Died

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

May 31, 2004

How many readers can make this diagnosis? A dentist and his wife became ill after eating at a restaurant and by 2:00 a.m. they were patients in the hospital's emergency department. A doctor diagnosed food poisoning and sent them home on anti-nausea medication. Arriving home, the dentist's wife soon developed a headache and increased nausea. Then she became hysterical when she found the cat had suddenly died. At this point the worried dentist called Dr. Marvin Lipman, now Clinical Professor of Medicine Emeritus at New York Medical College. His speedy diagnosis saved their lives.

Even at 4:00 a.m. awakened from his sleep, Dr. Lipman's analytical mind realized what had occurred. The cat was dead from carbon monoxide poisoning (CO). He reported this thought-provoking case in the October issue of "Consumer Reports on Health".

It's estimated that every year 5,000 people die from CO poisoning in North America. But this data about CO, as in most statistics, is probably inexact. It doesn't take into account those who die in automobiles from this odourless deadly gas.

Carbon monoxide is generated when fuels such as wood, natural gas, oil or kerosene have insufficient oxygen for full combustion.

We've all heard of depressed people using CO in a closed garage to commit suicide. But we forget that recreational vehicles, poorly ventilated cabins, malfunctioning kerosene space heaters, fire places and wood stoves also pose a potential threat.

This winter one child in Montreal died and others required emergency care when they were left inside idling cars. Deep snow had blocked the car's tailpipe.

We all need oxygen to survive. But if CO is present in the air, then oxygen becomes a teenage hockey player competing against Wayne Gretzky. CO is absorbed 200 times more readily in the blood than oxygen.

CO quickly becomes bound to hemoglobin in the blood to form carboxyhemoglobin. This prevents oxygen from being transported to the body's cells. CO initially causes headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue. Continued exposure results in irregularity of the heart, coma and death in minutes.

But how many people die indirectly from carbon monoxide on our highways? We're all advised never to drink and drive. But few are cautioned not to smoke and drive.

A study in Seattle, Washington, revealed that smokers had a 50 percent increased risk over non-smokers of being involved in motor vehicle crashes.

It's due to the "Bingo Brain Syndrome". A woman was admitted to hospital complaining of chest pain and mental confusion. She smoked two packs of cigarettes daily and was an ardent bingo player three nights a week.

Further research revealed the bingo hall was polluted with smoke. Of the 310 players 304 were smoking. The woman's diagnosis? Carbon monoxide poisoning. Like exhaust fumes, cigarettes also produce CO.

Federal Air Standards state that 9 parts per million (9 PPM) of CO are hazardous. In an enclosed car 20 PPM are reached after 10 cigarettes. And the CO level for both smokers and non-smokers doubles within the first hour. This doubles again during the second hour. It takes little imagination to speculate on what happens to drivers on a long trip.

Drivers with high levels of CO exhibit a slower response to tail lights and impaired performance on psychomotor tests. But no one questions the number of fatal accidents caused by these high levels of CO.

Nor do smoking parents ever consider that when their child gets motion sickness in a car it could be due to CO effects.

The best protection against carbon monoxide poisoning is to have a CO detector installed in the home near bedrooms. Vitas Gerulaitis, the tennis star, would be alive today if he had installed a CO detector. A faulty pool heater caused seepage of lethal CO fumes into his home.

Be sure kerosene heaters and other devices are regularly inspected. Never start the car unless the tailpipe is clear of snow. And if you have any respect for your body don't spend hours in bingo halls that allow smoking. It a slow way of poisoning yourself.

And if you ever find the cat dead or someone unconscious when you arrive home think CO. Quickly open the windows, call the fire department and get everyone out of the house.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod