Thach Ha District Medical Center informed that on December 16, the unit received 4 patients from a family residing in Viet Tien commune (Thach Ha), including 1 child and 1 newborn baby who were hospitalized with difficulty breathing, lethargy, and vomiting.
Relatives said that the patient suffocated because he burned charcoal to warm the house at night and closed the door to sleep.
Upon admission, the patients were quickly transferred to the Emergency - Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department for intensive resuscitation and high-flow oxygen therapy. Currently, all 4 patients are conscious and are being monitored in the Emergency - Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department.
According to Specialist Doctor Nguyen Huu Thach - Head of the Department of Emergency - Intensive Care and Anti-Poison at Thach Ha District Medical Center, burning coal in a closed room, narrow space, with closed doors will burn all the oxygen, producing CO gas causing poisoning.
CO gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless, so it is very difficult to detect, especially when sleeping. The process of gas poisoning occurs very quickly, when the patient begins to feel abnormal, the body is almost in a state of poisoning, difficult to perceive, no longer able to cope to get out of the area with toxic gas.
CO poisoning can cause irreversible brain damage if not detected and treated promptly. Some severe poisoning cases can lead to death.
It is recommended not to burn coal for heating, and if you do, do not close the door.
When detecting someone suffering from suffocation, quickly take the victim out of the room, into a ventilated space to promptly supplement oxygen, and at the same time call an ambulance or take them to the nearest medical facility.
