Carbon Monoxide

Another addition to the poison's catalogue, this time in the form of one of the most feared gases around. Carbon monoxide is so notorious due to the fact it's not only easily produced but is a colourless, odourless gas. I'm going to go through how Carbon Monoxide works and how to diagnose a carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide's not a gas to mess around with!

Name: Carbon Monoxide

Formula: CO

Effect on Victim: Carbon Monoxide's effects appear relatively tame compared to the other poisons I've covered. Acute poison monoxide poisoning doesn't cause any vomiting, hair loss, convulsions or paralysis. What Carbon Monoxide does is more subtle. Acute Carbon Monoxide poisoning results in a headache, followed by possible nausea, then dizziness, breathlessness. If the person hasn't managed to escape the poison by now they'll collapse and lose consciousness. Once this happens they'll soon die due to mass cell death. Carbon Monoxide works by preferentially binding to haemoglobin over oxygen. This means that the pp (partial pressure) of Oxygen becomes extremely low in the blood. This makes it extremely difficult for cells in the body to take up the oxygen from the blood which they need for respiration to produce ATP. Carbon Monoxide is commonly used in suicides as the loss of consciousness means it is relatively painless.

Lethal Dose: 0.16% concentration in air will kill in less than two hours, however a 1.28% concentration can kill in as little as 3 minutes.

Diagnosis: Carbon Monoxide has one very distinctive calling sign which will alert you immediately to poisoning. This is the rosy colour it induces in the victim. Carbon Monoxide poisoning causes a bright, cherry pink which persists long after death. This can be confirmed by a blood test to see the levels of CO in the blood. On average a Carbon Monoxide poisoning victim will have a CO% saturation of the haemoglobin of 60% . You must factor into your analysis that smokers already have a Carbon Monoxide blood level of around 8-12% . Women, children and old people will also general have a lower lethal level.

There's the quick guide to carbon monoxide. Hopefully after this you'll see the reason for the drive for everyone to fit Carbon Monoxide detectors. Just remember cherry coloured skin is bad news. Over and out, as ever any feedback is welcome, thanks for reading!