Carbon Monoxide (CO): What To Think About

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What To Think About

• A person with symptoms and possible exposure to carbon monoxide, such as someone who lives in a house with an old heating system and complains of ongoing headaches, should be tested for carbon monoxide poisoning.
• A person who may have carbon monoxide poisoning should be removed from the place of likely exposure and given oxygen to breathe before being tested.
• The level of oxygen in the blood is usually within the normal range in people with carbon monoxide poisoning.
• People who are regularly exposed to car exhaust, such as taxi drivers and traffic police, often have high carbon monoxide levels (8% to 12%).
• If carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected, other tests (such as arterial blood gases and a complete blood count) may be done. An arterial blood gas (ABG) test may be done to determine whether symptoms are caused by carbon monoxide poisoning or by another disease that causes similar symptoms. See the medical tests Arterial Blood Gases (ABG) and Complete Blood Count (CBC).

Last updated:	March 18, 2008
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, R. Steven Tharratt, MD, MPVM, FACP, FCCP - Pulmonology, Critical Care, Medical Toxicology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer