Christine Stone, RN May 3, 2017
Clinical Liaison for Lifequest Nursing Home

Carbon Monoxide – also known as CO2 is a colorless and odorless gas that is impossible to detect without specialized equipment. For that reason, it’s been called “The Invisible Killer.”   About 400 people die each year from CO2 poisoning. Another 200,000 people are sickened and require hospital treatment.

CO2 can be produced by fuel-powered devices in the home – like stoves, furnaces, water heaters, dryers, broilers, and lanterns, wood-burning stoves, charcoal grills, and generators.   Ask yourself: do you have any of these in your home or apartment? If your answer is “Yes”, then please read on.

The reason CO2 is so dangerous is that it replaces oxygen in your blood.   When you breathe in CO2 in an enclosed or poorly ventilated space, your body becomes “starved” for oxygen in less than three minutes.   Cells will begin to die, and permanent damage begins.

This all sounds very dire, but there is an easy, relatively inexpensive solution.   Much like a smoke detector, the CO2 detector sounds an alarm when unsafe levels of the gas are detected. CO2 detectors can be battery operated or can connect directly into electric outlets.   In many states and counties, CO2 detectors are required by law, and should be placed on each level of the home (including basement, attic, garage and other work rooms). At minimum, there should be a CO2 detector placed outside each bedroom.

Other steps to keep your family safe include:

• Check the CO2 detectors monthly to make sure they’re working and have functional batteries. Keep an extra supply of fresh batteries on hand.
• When using the fireplace, keep the damper wide open and keep it open until the ashes have completely cooled.
• Never use your gas stove or oven to heat a room.
• Never use a portable generator inside the house. Generators should be kept outside at least 20 feet from the house.
• Never use a charcoal or propane grill inside the house.

Know the signs and symptoms of carbon dioxide poisoning:

• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Confusion

If you suspect that you or a family member has CO2 poisoning – immediately go outside for fresh air and then call 911.

Whether the music is orchestral, rock, country, or jazz, most seniors like to listen to some kind of music. Music can soothe or energize, make us happy or sad, but the kind we like to hear does something that can be positively reinforcing or otherwise we would not listen to it. As my 80-year-old jazz trumpeter friend, Richard Phelps, recently said at his birthday party, “Where there is life there is music. Where there is music, there is life.”

Relatively little research has been done on the effects of music on brain function in older people. But one study recently reported the effects in older adults of background music on brain processing speed and two kinds of memory (episodic and semantic). The subjects were not musicians and had an average age of 69 years.

Music’s Effects on Cognitive Function of the Elderly