Expert cautions against burning coal indoors

Burning charcoal or wood indoors or in an enclosed space for generating warmth during the winter, increases the possibility of suffocation, poisoning and could even cause severe complications that may lead to death, Hamad Medical Corporation’s Emergency Medicine and Trauma specialist Dr Jalal Saleh al-Essai has cautioned. Speaking with regard to an increase in the number of suffocation cases recorded so far this month at the Emergency Department, he said all of the cases were allegedly attributed to burning charcoal indoors for heating due to the current cold wave sweeping the country.“When charcoal is burnt indoors for heating, it gives off a poisonous gas called carbon monoxide, which builds up in the air,” Dr al-Essai explained. When breathed in, carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the haemoglobin circulating in the bloodstream, eventually causing a drop in oxygen levels and causing suffocation.  “Poisoning symptoms may start appearing within five to 20 minutes of igniting the coal or the wood. However, the symptoms could also appear after hours, days or even months from exposure to carbon monoxide,” he stated. Mild carbon monoxide poisoning feels like the flu and its symptoms may take the form of headache, dizziness and nausea. “On the other hand, more serious poisoning cases may cause muscle cramps and fainting due to the poor delivery of blood to the heart and the brain. These symptoms could be particularly dangerous when experienced by children, pregnant women and people with chronic heart diseases, respiratory problems or anaemia,” he pointed out.Dr al-Essai advised that as soon as symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are detected, windows must be opened to improve the ventilation, and the fire must be extinguished. He also recommended calling for an ambulance and immediately going out in an open area to inhale fresh air.“In the Emergency Department, the first thing we do to treat these cases is to give the patient pure oxygen to breathe and then measure the percentage of carbon monoxide in blood from time to time. We also keep the patient under clinical observation in the emergency department for 24 to 48 hours,” he said. In severe cases that come to the Emergency Department after suffering high exposure to carbon monoxide, the patients are taken to a special oxygen chamber where they can breathe 100% pure oxygen under high atmospheric pressure equivalent to about ten times the normal pressure.“Coal-fired heating systems should be replaced with electric heaters,” Dr al-Essai urged.