Heating with charcoal, young man suffered severe brain damage

According to information from the Poison Control Center of Bach Mai Hospital, a patient (male, 31 years old) of the Hmong ethnic group, Long Luong commune, Van Ho district, Son La province, was transferred in a coma, kidney failure, muscle damage, diagnosed with CO poisoning, and brain damage.

Information from the patient's family was obtained that on the night of December 29, the weather was cold, the patient burned charcoal in a closed room to warm up and then went to sleep.

Heating with coal in a closed room leads to CO poisoning causing cerebral paralysis, many cases have died (photo Bach Mai Hospital).

At around 4am, the family heard a noise in the room so they went in to check and found the patient unconscious, so they rushed him to the hospital.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center of Bach Mai Hospital, said that when burning carbon-containing fuels such as firewood, charcoal, honeycomb coal, gasoline, etc. in an open space, the fuel burns completely and basically produces CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas, which has little impact on health. However, if burned in a closed area, the unfinished fuel produces CO (carbon monoxide), which is a very toxic gas. CO gas is colorless and odorless, so it is very difficult to detect, especially when sleeping, people will gradually pass out without knowing anything.

Although the patient is now more conscious, this is a very serious case, with clear signs of bilateral brain damage, muscle damage, kidney failure, etc.

There is a very high risk that the patient will have long-term mental and neurological complications, such as memory loss, mental disorders, tremors, muscle stiffness, paralysis, etc.

Currently, the Poison Control Center is applying active treatment measures to minimize possible complications for patients.

Brain damage due to CO poisoning (photo source Bach Mai Hospital).

Doctor Nguyen added: According to scientific research data, even in the mildest cases of CO poisoning, up to nearly 50% will experience complications in mental health, nerves, and brain damage later.

The mildest can be memory loss of varying degrees, possibly even coma, or complete amnesia.

Doctor Nguyen recommends to people: Absolutely do not burn fuels such as honeycomb coal, firewood, charcoal, gas, etc. in closed spaces. If you have to use them, do not use them in closed rooms, but leave the door open to allow adequate air circulation. It is best to choose another method of heating.

Another problem is that the current housing structure of people has a lot of problems with ventilation. Most of them are self-built, self-designed and very closed without a ventilation system or at least have vents, a way to pump air in from the outside and suck air out from the inside.

Obviously, in terms of ventilation, the structure of houses in today's society is far inferior to houses from ancient times to the subsidy period.

In developed countries, the weather is much colder than ours, they burn wood in their homes to keep warm, but they burn it in fireplaces and have very large chimneys leading up to the roof and out, and the air circulates in one direction, clean air enters the kitchen door, while smoke and CO only escape through the chimney. Even each house has its own ventilation system and CO detectors installed in the house.

To fundamentally address the problem, regulators must control the design and construction of people's homes to ensure adequate and safe ventilation.

When detecting a person suffering from suffocation, open the door to ventilate. In case the patient is breathing weakly, unconscious, or has no heart or lungs, perform artificial respiration or cardiac compression (cardiac arrest resuscitation) and then take them to the nearest medical facility.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/suoi-am-bang-than-hoa-nam-thanh-nien-bi-ton-thuong-nao-nang-post279731.html