A sigiri could end your life
Feb 21, 2006
TWENTY nine days of marriage is all Harrisson Olwande lived to enjoy. Less than a month after his wedding, the Kenyan man lit a charcoal stove (sigiri) to warm his bride. The couple went to bed, forgetting to put out the fire.
By Elvina Nawaguna
TWENTY nine days of marriage is all Harrisson Olwande lived to enjoy. Less than a month after his wedding, the Kenyan man lit a charcoal stove (sigiri) to warm his bride. The couple went to bed, forgetting to put out the fire.
Olwande was found dead in the morning from carbon monoxide poisoning. His bride, Terry, survived miraculously. This story was ran in Eve Magazine’s November-December bridal pullout.
Who knew a sigiri would be so dangerous? Many families in Uganda use sigiri to cook. Even in the more affluent homes, you will find a sigiri, besides other modern cooking methods. However, few people know about the risks and possibilities of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a common by-product of combustion, present whenever fossil fuels are burned.
According to information from the American Center for Disease Control (CDC), because you can’t see, smell or taste carbon monoxide, it can kill you before you know it is there.
Dr. Edward Ddumba, a consultant physician at Mulago Hospital, explains that carbon monoxide combines with blood and displaces the heamoglobin in the blood. The blood, therefore, cannot deliver oxygen to the rest of the body.
Heamoglobin in the blood stream carries life-giving oxygen to cells and tissues in the body. Carbon monoxide, even when breathed in small amounts, quickly bonds with the heamoglobin and displaces the oxygen that the body needs. Red blood cells pick up carbon monoxide faster than they pick up oxygen. It accumulates in the blood and forms a toxic compound, Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb).
According to CDC, the COHb produces symptoms like headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizzy spells, confusion and irritability. “As levels of COHb increase, vomiting, loss of consciousness and eventually brain damage or death occur,†CDC says. Because these symptoms are similar to flu, there can be misdiagnosis.
Besides severe carbon monoxide poisoning, which often ends in death, carbon monoxide poisoning may take place over a long time. According to Dr Dumba, prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide may result in chronic lung disease, heart failure and will affect your mental state and ability to reason and make decisions. “Oxygen supply to the brain is low,†he says.
People who work in poorly ventilated factories, kitchens, garages, coal miners and charcoal burners are exposed to carbon monoxide over long periods of time.
In homes, the use of charcoal and wood stoves, exhaust fumes from car engine in the garage, faulty gas cookers, improperly installed water heaters, steam irons and barbeque grills can also expose the family to carbon monoxide poisoning over a long time. Other symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are seizures, vision problems, confusion, increased heart and breathing rate, dizziness and even comas. A direct link between carbon monoxide poisoning and symptoms of heart disease, angina and heart attacks has been found.
Ddumba advises that sigiris be used only in an open place. They should never let it burn out on its own when they go to bed. Sigiri inside the house is dangerous because its carbon monoxide circulates in the house. Dumba advises that all cooking places be well ventilated to avoid a build up of carbon monoxide.
In the modern world, it is mandatory that every home has carbon monoxide alarms. Although carbon monoxide is odourless and hard to detect, a stuffy, stale smell in the house may be an indicator of its presence. If you sense this, open all windows and doors. Check all the devices in the house that use combustion and have an electrician check them. Vacate the place until it is well aerated. If there is anyone showing any signs of carbon monoxide poisoning get them out into the open and get medical help immediately.
Dumba also cautions against keeping the car engine running in the garage, especially if the garage door is open. He also advises that you let the car engine cool in the compound first, before getting the car into the garage. Although a blue flame is not guarantee that all is well, if the flame of your lighting or cooking appliances is orange, you have a problem there. CDC advises that you have all your appliances like cookers, heaters, ovens checked at least once a year to make sure that they are functioning well.
Ends
TWENTY nine days of marriage is all Harrisson Olwande lived to enjoy. Less than a month after his wedding, the Kenyan man lit a charcoal stove (sigiri) to warm his bride. The couple went to bed, forgetting to put out the fire.
Olwande was found dead in the morning from carbon monoxide poisoning. His bride, Terry, survived miraculously. This story was ran in Eve Magazine’s November-December bridal pullout.
Who knew a sigiri would be so dangerous? Many families in Uganda use sigiri to cook. Even in the more affluent homes, you will find a sigiri, besides other modern cooking methods. However, few people know about the risks and possibilities of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a common by-product of combustion, present whenever fossil fuels are burned.
According to information from the American Center for Disease Control (CDC), because you can’t see, smell or taste carbon monoxide, it can kill you before you know it is there.
Dr. Edward Ddumba, a consultant physician at Mulago Hospital, explains that carbon monoxide combines with blood and displaces the heamoglobin in the blood. The blood, therefore, cannot deliver oxygen to the rest of the body.
Heamoglobin in the blood stream carries life-giving oxygen to cells and tissues in the body. Carbon monoxide, even when breathed in small amounts, quickly bonds with the heamoglobin and displaces the oxygen that the body needs. Red blood cells pick up carbon monoxide faster than they pick up oxygen. It accumulates in the blood and forms a toxic compound, Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb).
According to CDC, the COHb produces symptoms like headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizzy spells, confusion and irritability. “As levels of COHb increase, vomiting, loss of consciousness and eventually brain damage or death occur,†CDC says. Because these symptoms are similar to flu, there can be misdiagnosis.
Besides severe carbon monoxide poisoning, which often ends in death, carbon monoxide poisoning may take place over a long time. According to Dr Dumba, prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide may result in chronic lung disease, heart failure and will affect your mental state and ability to reason and make decisions. “Oxygen supply to the brain is low,†he says.
People who work in poorly ventilated factories, kitchens, garages, coal miners and charcoal burners are exposed to carbon monoxide over long periods of time.
In homes, the use of charcoal and wood stoves, exhaust fumes from car engine in the garage, faulty gas cookers, improperly installed water heaters, steam irons and barbeque grills can also expose the family to carbon monoxide poisoning over a long time. Other symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are seizures, vision problems, confusion, increased heart and breathing rate, dizziness and even comas. A direct link between carbon monoxide poisoning and symptoms of heart disease, angina and heart attacks has been found.
Ddumba advises that sigiris be used only in an open place. They should never let it burn out on its own when they go to bed. Sigiri inside the house is dangerous because its carbon monoxide circulates in the house. Dumba advises that all cooking places be well ventilated to avoid a build up of carbon monoxide.
In the modern world, it is mandatory that every home has carbon monoxide alarms. Although carbon monoxide is odourless and hard to detect, a stuffy, stale smell in the house may be an indicator of its presence. If you sense this, open all windows and doors. Check all the devices in the house that use combustion and have an electrician check them. Vacate the place until it is well aerated. If there is anyone showing any signs of carbon monoxide poisoning get them out into the open and get medical help immediately.
Dumba also cautions against keeping the car engine running in the garage, especially if the garage door is open. He also advises that you let the car engine cool in the compound first, before getting the car into the garage. Although a blue flame is not guarantee that all is well, if the flame of your lighting or cooking appliances is orange, you have a problem there. CDC advises that you have all your appliances like cookers, heaters, ovens checked at least once a year to make sure that they are functioning well.
Ends