Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – Are you prepared?

Kari Lewis

What has no color, odor, or taste and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), kills over 400 people and sends more than 20,000 Americans to the emergency room every year?  The answer would be carbon monoxide, a ‘silent killer.’  Carbon monoxide is a gas produced any time fuel is burned in vehicles, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges, or furnaces.  Carbon monoxide can accumulate indoors and poison people and animals who breathe it.   

Most unintentional carbon monoxide poisonings happen in January, and the second most in December. As we begin another Montana winter, it is important to recognize the causes and signs of CO poisoning. People suffering carbon monoxide poisoning often don’t realize it as the symptoms, which include headaches, dizziness or lightheadedness, and nausea – are common complaints. Carbon monoxide exposure can result in long-lasting brain issues such as learning and memory impairments or death. 

To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, the CDC recommends the following:

·         Install a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector in your home and check the batteries each spring and fall.  The detector should be some place you will hear it if it alarms, such as outside your bedroom.  Detectors should be replaced every five years. 

·         Every year have a qualified technician check your heating systems, water heaters, and other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances.

·         Never use generators, camp stoves, charcoal grills, or any other gas- or oil-burning device inside the home. Never use these devices outside the home near a window.

·         Never run a motor vehicle inside the garage, even if the garage door is open.

·         Never burn anything in a fireplace or stove that is not vented to the outside.

·         Never heat your house with a gas oven.

·         Seek medical attention if you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning is the cause of your dizziness or nausea.

Today’s information was inspired by an article, ‘Carbon Monoxide – the silent killer’ by Barbara Allen, MSU Extension Housing and Environmental Health Program Manager in the MSU Extension Lives and Landscapes magazine.  You can learn more about carbon monoxide and how to prevent exposure to it at the CDC website (cdc.gov/co). 

I would also like to remind folks that we have some beautiful 2019 Don Greytak calendars available at our office in Cut Bank for just $15.  These calendars feature amazing pencil drawings of 4-H and rural Montana and each calendar also includes 3 raffle tickets for a chance to win a leather-bound collection of Don Greytak calendar covers from the past 30 years.  All proceeds support the Glacier County 4-H Council and the Montana 4-H Foundation.  These make great Christmas gifts, while supporting 4-H!

What you do in the off season....Determines your winter and spring, 2019!

Kari Lewis

With the fall sports season underway, the phrase, ‘What you do in the off season determines what you do in the regular season,’ certainly comes into play.  I feel the same way about September for rural Montana.  What we do in September will determine what we do in the coming winter and spring. 

            In terms of preparing for winter, we know propane prices are lower this time of year than

Winter 2018 was one for the books, make sure
to get propane ordered, firewood cut, and
cupboards and freezers filled now.
Photo by Kari Lewis

during the dead of winter, so now is the time to get that supply ordered.  We know it is much easier and safer to access firewood now, than in the winter.  And, we know that now is the time to stock those cupboards and fill the freezer as well.  Do you remember what last winter was like??  Let’s be prepared!

              In terms of our lawn, now is the time to make those fall fertilizer applications.  In Montana, we recommend fertilizing around Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day.  The final fall fertilizer application should occur after the last mowing of the year, but about four weeks before the soil freezes.  Therefore, by making those fall fertilizer applications now, our lawns will green up much sooner in the spring and have increased vigor.

             In terms of any newly planted trees, now is the time make sure newly planted evergreens have sun barriers on the windward and south side, and that deciduous trees have their trunks wrapped with a tree wrap to help reflect the sun, which will reduce sunscald on the bark.  Later in the fall after the leaves have turned color and fallen off, trees should be watered weekly until the soil freezes.  These fall waterings (after the leaves have fallen off) will help maintain tree health and longevity. 

            In terms of the cowherd, we know that cull cow prices are typically higher in September than they are in October or November when the dry cows hit the market.  Therefore, now would be the time to market those cull cows.  We also know that it’s much easier to put condition on a cow in the fall while she’s in the 2^nd trimester, than later in the winter or right before calving.  Now is the time to body condition score those cows and sort off the young cows or thin cows to early wean their calves and provide them a little extra time to bounce back before calving.

            In terms of controlling winter annual weeds and perennial weeds, fall is a great time to do so.  Winter annual weeds, such as cheatgrass, are best managed in the early fall.  Winter annual weeds are easiest to control when air temperatures are mild, and weeds are still actively growing, generally before the first killing frost. 

Fall is a great time to control perennial weeds as cooler temperatures trigger the weed to prepare for winter by moving food reserves down to its roots, which promotes movement of herbicides to the plant’s roots and results in improved control.   Dandelions in the lawn, spotted knapweed, houndstongue, and whiteop are examples of perennial weeds that can be effectively managed in the fall.  Fall herbicides should be made only if plants still have green, pliable leaf tissues and are best done when daytime temperatures are expected to exceed 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you have questions on fall lawn or tree care, weed management, cowherd nutrition, food preservation, etc., be sure to contact your local MSU Extension office!

Tips to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

Kari Lewis

Recently I saw an article on my NewsFeed of a young man who had been sleeping in a camper trailer and was suspected of dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.  It reminded me of a similar situation more locally of a young man who died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning while night calving and staying in a camper trailer with a propane heater.  The Center for Disease Control reports that from 1999 – 2010, there were an average of 430 deaths per year from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning in the U.S.  and more than 20,000 Americans go to the ER each year because of carbon monoxide poisoning.  With carbon monoxide poisoning often being related to malfunctioning or improperly used fuel-burning appliances, I thought with our current weather it would be fitting to talk a bit about carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted.  It is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, charcoal or coal burn.  Sources for carbon monoxide in the house could be operating a BBQ grill in an enclosed area, an improperly installed or faulty gas clothes dryer, furnace, or water heater, an improperly installed or faulty gas oven, range, or cooktop vent, an unvented space heater, a clogged or blocked chimney opening, etc. 

Carbon monoxide enters the lungs and bloodstreams where it binds to hemoglobin 200 times easier than oxygen does, displacing the oxygen in the bloodstream.  Symptoms from carbon monoxide poisoning can be mistaken for the flu as they include headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, and fainting.  At high levels, unconsciousness and death can occur, and if someone is asleep they may never wake up to know they have the symptoms of the poisoning. 

Winter snows can increase potential danger from carbon monoxide poisoning as snows can create drifts that block furnace and dryer exhaust vents forcing the gas back into the homes.  If you are visiting a cabin that has been snowed in, make sure to check the vents and exhaust pipes and chimneys before entering the house.  If using a space heater, they should only be used when someone is awake and there definitely needs to be airflow in and out of the room where they are located.  If using an emergency generator, they should be at least 20 feet from windows and doors and not used in a garage or basement.

Lastly, battery-operated carbon monoxide detectors should be installed on each floor of your home and near every sleeping area in your home and the detectors should be checked regularly to be sure they are functioning properly.  If you will be staying in a camper, cabin, etc., make sure those have carbon monoxide alarms as well.  In addition, make sure to never leave a vehicle running inside a garage or use gasoline-powered engines indoors or near windows either.