We have read and heard stories of people dying in their sleep from inhaling carbon monoxide. The major source of carbon monoxide in Nigeria is from generators while cars play a second role. I read a story here one day about a couple who died from inhaling CO and their son claimed his parents may have been killed and he called for investigation. Investigations showed they died from the CO gas. How does CO kill people in their sleep? Why is it that people don’t wake up as soon as they start inhaling CO?
Form my personal experience in January, I came back from work very tired (Lagos traffic: Obalende to Ajah not smiling). I fell on my bed and just slept off. In the middle of the night, I just woke up suddenly as usual (I’m not a heavy sleeper) I couldn’t breathe properly, my hands were weak. Immediately I called my fiancée and I thought I was going to die. I managed to crawl to the bathroom, opened the tap on to my face. After that, I grabbed a sachet of water and drank. Surprisingly, I was better and I started to think. I realized I forgot to shut the window at night. My neighbour makes use of his generator till dawn so I have inhaled CO. It was a miracle I survived.
When carbon monoxide (CO) is breathed in it poisons the body by displacing the oxygen levels in the blood and effectively starving vital organs including the heart and brain of oxygen. This will cause loss of consciousness, (THIS IS THE MAJOR REASON MANY PEOPLE DON’T WAKE), suffocation and breathing in a large amount of this gas can have a deadly effect in a matter of minutes. Oxygen is transported around the body via the red blood cells. Specifically, oxygen binds to a substance within the red blood cells called haemoglobin.
Haemoglobin takes up oxygen as blood passes through the lungs, and at the same time carbon dioxide, produced by the body's metabolism, is released from the blood into the exhaled breath. Carbon monoxide, if inhaled, will bind itself to haemoglobin but does so about 240 times more tightly than oxygen, forming a compound called carboxyhaemoglobin. The problem is, the body cannot differentiate O2 from CO. This means that if both carbon monoxide and oxygen are inhaled, carbon monoxide will preferentially bind to haemoglobin. This reduces the amount of haemoglobin available to bind to oxygen, so the body and tissues become starved of oxygen. When unconsciousness sets in, CO poisons the body by shutting down the body systems and the person dies quietly.
However, the poisoning is not always instant. On a daily basis, we are exposed and the body is getting poisoned daily. So if you're living in a neighbourhood where generators never cease to work, always have your windows shut. Do not operate your own set close to the window (very common in Lagos because of security reasons) or indoors. If you're always fatigued, having frequent headaches, vomiting, dizziness etc, visit your doctor. It may be CO poisoning or something else.

OK. Long gist

Lalasticlala mogidi ishilove, this is FP material so informative and educative. We need to join hands together in preventing unnecessary loss of precious lives. I remember Rasheedat Makinde back in 2003, we lost such a pretty and intelligent lady to this same event. RIP to you.

This guy above me though.... wicked man

I take God beg u summarize am 4 me

JOHN MCPHERSON CONSTITUTION



OF 1954

.

Good work and insightful

Paschal001:
OK. Long gist

If the post isn't long, how would you know it's me?
It may be long but it's not unnecessarily long. That's the summary of what I have in mind.

Lucky you. Forget that you are a light or heavy sleeper

Impressive

Emmyk:
Lucky you. Forget that you are a light or heavy sleeper

Yes o. That's why I said it was miracle.

Years ago, I had a neighbor who suddenly came upon some money and bought 'I better pass my neighbor' generator and kept it close to my window. When I came back to my apartment in the evening and saw my room filled with smoke, I immediately went outside and Switched off his generator and sneaked back into my room, he came out and put it on back. I waited for him to leave and went out to put it off again. I played that game several times with him. The guy got tired and left the generator switched off for the night. The next day, I told him I was the person doing it and we had an agreement for him to position it close to his window and enjoy the smoke alone. Suffice to say that was the end of the generator.

Good post. I've always wondered why as well.

diehard:
Years ago, I had a neighbor who suddenly came upon some money and bought 'I better pass my neighbor' generator and kept it close to my window. When I came back to my apartment in the evening and saw my room filled with smoke, I immediately went outside and Switched off his generator and sneaked back into my room, he came out and put it on back. I waited for him to leave and went out to put it off again. I played that game several times with him. The guy got tired and left the generator switched off for the night. The next day, I told him I was the person doing it and we had an agreement for him to position it close to his window and enjoy the smoke alone. Suffice to say that was the end of the generator.

Lol. You killed his joy

Okay

Most Nigerians won't read a five line essay even to save their own lives.

Nice information in fact is not advisable to be putting on generators over night unless the generator store is located around the premises where the CO and the sound is far fetch.

Educative

BRAV0O:
Nice information in fact is not advisable to be putting on generators over night unless the generator store is located around the premises where the CO and the sound is far fetch.

Exactly.

Let me try to explain..
Generator fumes (smoke) have Carbonmonoxide (CO)
We take Oxygen (O₂) and give out carbondioxide (CO₂)
The O₂ is needed for human life..
O₂ binds to our blood and it is being transferred to where it is needed.
CO (gene fumes) binds to blood 200x faster than O₂ binding to the blood..

So when CO is present it makes O₂ absent and one will die

favoured234:
Let me try to explain..
Generator fumes (smoke) have Carbonmonoxide (CO)
We take Oxygen (O₂) and give out carbondioxide (CO₂)
The O₂ is needed for human life..
O₂ binds to our blood and it is being transferred to where it is needed.
CO (gene fumes) binds to O₂ 200x faster than O₂ binding to the blood..

So when CO is present it makes O₂ absent and one will die

Gbam. Apt summary. But the bold fonts is blood which carries O2

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NifemiOlu:


Gbam. Apt summary. But the bold fonts is blood which carries O2

Thanks.. As I wan form primary school teacher..

Every landlord should endeavour to include a " generator house ", setback far from the main house.
Very important.

Thanks op, lost a family friend to this. It's sad cause an healthy and very active person went to bed and never woke up

People are still dying of inhaling CO in 2015. nigeria is not a country but a forest.

In just 16 years more than 20-30 billion dollars have been spent on providing regular electricity, but its in futility.

In this 54 years of nigeria, those useless leaders takes the country for granted because one nigeria is a country that belongs to nobody.

JBismarck:
Lalasticlala mynd44 seun, this is FP material so informative and educative. We need to join hands together in preventing unnecessary loss of precious lives. I remember Rasheedat Makinde back in 2003, we lost such a pretty and intelligent lady to this same event. RIP to you.

This guy above me though.... wicked man

Sorry for your loss

I prefer hearing ds kind of educative news dan hearing dat gifty is on a tour, or one yeye moderator won election in OAU

Bro you for die ooo. Is actually God that saved you. Your time to join ur ancestors have not reached, so prepare for your thanksgiving.

I have always thought of this, nice piece man!

Cool