Doctors have requested that necessary precautions be taken when using such devices, as fires, coal burning, heaters, and geysers are used to keep the body and room warm during winter.
What you should know
Winter has begun. Life is becoming difficult in the Terai due to the cold wave.
Doctors have requested to take necessary precautions while using such devices as fire, coal, heater and geyser are used to keep the body and room warm in winter.
Due to not taking precautions while using these devices, deaths and hospitalizations are increasing every year. Just a few days ago, a 38-day-old baby died while sleeping with coal burning in Surkhet, and three members of the family even fainted.
If the ventilation system of the house is not good while using various devices for heating, toxic gas like 'carbon monoxide' can accumulate in the room. This gas is odorless, colorless and tasteless, and if exposed to it for a long time, it can cause serious health problems or even death.
Consultant General Physician Dr. Vivekraj Poudel says, 'Oxygen is required for burning fire, coal, and running gas geyser.' The byproducts of combustion are 'carbon dioxide' and 'carbon monoxide'. If these two gases were mixed with the outside environment, it would not make much difference. When oxygen runs out in a closed room and only these two gases are left, our body is forced to take them.' According to him, this can cause conditions such as heart rhythm disturbances, loss of consciousness, inability to breathe, problems in the blood, and increased acid levels.
Dr. Poudel says that those trapped in such situations should be rescued as quickly as possible and placed in the outside environment and kept on 'high flow' oxygen in the hospital. He says, 'After the incident is known, rescue should be carried out as quickly as possible so that immediate and long-term effects can be avoided. In the long term, some people may not be as alert as before, their mental state may not be as sharp as before, and they may have problems with forgetfulness.'
Despite the increase in such accidents every year, experts say that the general public is still not aware of this. 'If you have to use various electrical appliances, such as burning coal or heating a fire, a closed room is not good. There should be ventilation in the room and bathroom. Wear warm clothes and use things to keep the body warm as much as possible. Go to bed only after extinguishing the coal before going to bed. Not only this, but the best way to go to bed after turning off every item is to sleep,' suggests Dr. Poudel.
The Ministry of Health and Population has issued a notice urging people to take the following precautions when lighting a fire, using a heater or using a geyser in winter:
- Only light a fire, light a heater or use a geyser in a well-ventilated place or room.
- Avoid lighting a fire from coal-based sources as much as possible.
- Do not keep flammable materials such as paper and cloth nearby when lighting a fire or heating a heater.
– Extinguish the fire completely after heating it .
– Turn off the heater from time to time while using it .
– Turn off the heater before going to bed .
– Connect the main machine of the geyser to an open area outside the bathroom .
– Do not stay in the bathroom for a long time with the geyser on .
– Do not close the bathroom window as much as possible while taking a bath using the geyser .
