Table of Contents
What Are The Natural Gas Leak Symptoms?
Exposure to any gas in a considerable amount isn’t considered harmful. But, when it’s present in your environment in an anomalous quantity, the situation becomes worrisome. Natural gases tend to be odourless and invisible. So, you may feel certain physical symptoms indicating a gas leak.
A hissing sound of the leakage isn’t what will always safeguard your home. There are several other effects to watch out for. When you feel these signs, call on the emergency numbers or carry out a gas leak detection procedure.
How Can You Tell If There’s A Leakage?
Here is how you can tell if your construction is witnessing a leakage or not:
- An obvious whistling or hissing sound can help you detect a gas leak
- You smell something similar to rotten eggs or sulphur
- There’s a damaged gas pipeline
- You observe bubbles in the stagnant water
- There’s blowing dust or the formation of a white cloud
- Your plants start to wither for no apparent reason
In the case of a leakage, the oxygen levels in your house go drastically down and you may witness some changes in your metabolism. So, these are other issues that you might start to observe.
- A sudden headache
- Light Headedness
- Vomiting
- Chest pain
- Pain in the eyes
- Tiredness
- Blurry vision
- Dizziness
- Irregular breathing
- Throat irritation
- Paleness of the skin
The symptoms can also be seen with pets and prolonged high exposure can also result in unconsciousness or death.
What Shouldn’t You Do?
- Avoid coming in contact with any electrical appliances or switches.
- Do not keep your doors or windows closed
- Do not try to instantly repair the leak
- You shouldn’t assume that someone else is going to report the leak. You are equally responsible.
- No phone calls must be made inside the house, please!
What Needs To Be Done?
- Let a professional check how critical the situation is.
- All your pipe fittings must be outside the house.
- Let the professional fix the leak if it’s a major one.
Natural gas leakages are pretty rare as sufficient safety has been employed to make them harmless. But, a mishap can take place anytime and both indoors and outside the house. Natural gas leak detectors come in handy. So, this way you are continuously monitoring the gas levels in your home.
Refrigerant Poisoning
This is another aspect of chemical poisoning that’s pretty common yet not many people know about it.
What Is Refrigerant Poisoning?
Refrigerants emit a common chemical known as Freon or fluorinated hydrocarbons. This is again odourless and tasteless. When it’s deeply inhaled, the chemical can easily cut off your body’s oxygen supply. Even limited exposure can be harmful. And at a level that’s from mild to critical, Freon fumes become fatal. Plus, prolonged exposure can cause breathing issues, organ failure or even sudden death.
Refrigerant Poisoning: Symptoms
When the refrigerants accumulate in enclosed spaces, they can develop the following symptoms:
- A headache
- Nausea
- Bloody vomiting
- Irritation of the skin
- Frostbite (in case of liquid Freon)
- Irritation of the throat or eyes
- Lung bleeding
- Irregular heartbeat
- Unconsciousness
- Feeling mentally fatigued
- Seizures
- A dry cough
- Chemical odour on clothes
- Lack of concentration
- Hallucinations
- Muscle weakness
- Feeling agitated
- Nervous damage
- Brain cell damage
- Eventually, death
Steps For Prevention
Inhaling chemical fumes of Freon is commonly seen as drug addiction. People intentionally sniff the chemical but even an unintentional sniff can be pretty lethal. Such chemicals are easy to find in the entire United States of America. And according to a 2014 report, around 40,000 underage kids were seen to inhale these chemicals on just any given day.
So, the side effects can spread to your skin like a bacterial infection which will need you to seek medical help. This is why; you must try to induce vomiting so as to discharge any irritants from the stomach of the person who has inhaled the Freon fumes. If the person shows excessive anxiety, cover them and try to calm them down. Additionally, store such aerosols or household chemicals off the reach of your kids and pets
MUST CHECK THIS ARTICLE: Best HVAC Refrigerant Freon Leak Detectors Reviews- 2018 Buying Guide.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Before we tell you how to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, let us be aware of the basics.
What Is Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning?
CO is a gas that’s found in combustion fumes and is both colourless as well as odourless. The gas is produced by fireplaces, heaters, car engines, charcoal grillers, car mufflers and portable generators. This way, to some extent, we are all exposed to CO gas. But, when the exposure level increases, it results in carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning: How Does It Happen?
Inhaling a certain amount of carbon monoxide on a daily basis is a common thing. However, when it gets trapped inside poorly ventilated spaces, it becomes a problem for human and animal health. The gas can accumulate in your bloodstream and lead to severe tissue damage. CO poisoning is life-threatening. So, identify the symptoms of CO poisoning and immediately call the emergency numbers.
Symptoms Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
The most common CO poisoning symptoms are:
- Weakness
- Vomiting
- Mild to a severe headache
- Difficulty in breathing
When you are breathing CO in larger amounts, it can also cause unconsciousness or even result in death.
How To Avoid Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning?
The gas is called a silent killer as it does not have a taste, odour or any visible colour. This way, more and more people are the risk of being affected. So, it is important for you to prepare yourself and protect your loved ones.
- Thoroughly inspect your heating systems including ducts and chimneys.
- Portable generators need to be kept outside your house that too at least 20 feet away from the windows.
- Heaters must not be left unattended.
- No matter how tempted you are, do not use your grillers in closed spaces like a garage.
- Cooking ranges must not be used in place of a heating appliance.
- Annually check your car’s exhaust system and do not leave it running in your garage.
- Keep a check on your vent pipes and not let them loosen or disconnect.
- When there’s excessive moisture inside your house on cold surfaces or windows, it’s a sign of CO buildup. Keep a check on the same.
- Try and keep all the important information handy. For instance, keep a record of all the necessary emergency numbers at someplace where they remain easily accessible.
- Another helpful way to avoid CO poisoning is by installing a Carbon Monoxide detector. It’s a battery-powered device that alerts you about the high CO levels in spaces like the basement or garage.
How Can Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Be Treated?
- Keep your house well ventilated. In case of a leakage, immediately evacuate the construction.
- Know about the potentially dangerous signs and symptoms.
- Get medical assistance and do not ignore the signs. You’ll be asked to go for a few tests and certain medications will also be prescribed along with suggesting you a few lifestyle changes.