CARBON MONOXIDE CAN BE DEADLY FOR CHILDREN

According to Dr. Marc Bayer, Medical Director, Connecticut Poison Control Center, carbon monoxide can cause neurological problems, learning disabilities and developmental trouble in children and can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth for women exposed during pregnancy.

"The increased danger the very young face from carbon monoxide is due to higher oxygen requirements for smaller bodies. Because children have faster metabolic rates than adults, they require more oxygen for vital organs such as the brain and the heart. Since carbon monoxide interferes with oxygen delivery, it can lead to damage to an infant's developing nervous system," said Bayer.

According to "American Family Physician", November 1, 1993, carbon monoxide is especially dangerous to the unborn. The fetus is extremely vulnerable to carbon monoxide poisoning for three reasons.

First, carboxyhemoglobin (the compound formed by carbon monoxide in the blood stream) in the mother's blood decreases the amount of oxygen released to the fetus. Second, hemoglobin in the fetus has a higher affinity for carbon monoxide than does adult hemoglobin. Lastly, fetal levels of carbon monoxide will continue to rise after the mother's levels have peaked and begun to fall, taking longer for the fetus to eliminate the noxious gas from its bloodstream.

In these situations, the mother may recover completely, but the fetus may be stillborn or suffer serious brain damage, according to the American Gas Association's "Revised Abstract and Health Effects" Section, 1988.

"It has been my experience that unborn babies are more sensitive to carbon monoxide due to the persistence of fetal carboxyhemoglobin in their blood. Fetal hemoglobin, as opposed to the adult type, binds carbon monoxide with a much greater affinity. This substantiates the findings of medical investigators who have found a higher percentage of spontaneous abortions, fetal demise in utero, and birth defects in children of mothers exposed to seemingly low levels of carbon monoxide during pregnancy," said Bayer.

To help combat the dangers of carbon monoxide in the home, First Alert (R), the leader in carbon monoxide detector technology, has developed a self-powered detector that provides an extra margin of safety and continues to operate in the even of a power outage. This detector is designed to be extra sensitive, giving early warning to the presence of carbon monoxide.

Information provided by FIRST ALERT (R).