Time Change Reminder for Your Health: Change Carbon Monoxide Detector Batteries

Sunday, March 11, it will be time to adjust your clock's for daylight savings time. Move your clock forward one hour. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and fire department encourage you to take advantage of the time change as a reminder to change the batteries in your smoke detector and your Carbon Monoxide detector. The mantra, "Change Your Clock, Change Your Batteries," should be remembered and practiced.

Every year more than 200 people die of carbon dioxide poisoning, as a result of the by-product gas from urning fuels like natural gas, kerosene, coal, or even charcoal. It is common knowledge that car exhaust produces carbon dioxide. Deaths caused by vehicle exhaust are in addition to the 200 caused by burning household fuels. Thousands of people visit hospitals annually to be treated for CO poisoning. Do not become one of the statistics, simply change the batteries to keep your carbon dioxide detector working properly.

Carbon dioxide is colorless and odorless, making it a deadly gas that can permeate the air around you without your knowledge. Common characteristics of CO poisoning include: headache, nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, and dizziness. The symptoms may be mistaken for the flu, but are not accompanied by a fever. Should you experience CO poisoning, get fresh air immediately. Open windows and doors to ventilate the house.

If symptoms are pronounced, or do not go away with a little bit of fresh air, it is essential to seek professional medical help. CO poisoning interferes with the blood's ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Unborn babies, anemics, and heart disease patients are at particularly high risk if exposed to carbon monoxide. These individuals should see a medical professional to avoid complications, loss of consciousness, or death.