Domestic gas heaters claim over 20 lives so far

Islamabad
Gas poisoning in result of use of domestic gas heaters has claimed over 20 lives as has been reported at only two teaching hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the winter so far.
Data collected by ‘The News’ reveals that the use of heating systems particularly gas heaters is more life-threatening than spike of any seasonal infection including dengue fever though none of the concerned authorities have taken any initiative ever to control the loss of lives reported every year in winter.
From November 2014 to January 2014, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad received a total of 106 cases of gas poisoning of which eight were brought dead including one newly-wed couple from Rawat. The unfortunate couple kept gas heater on and slept that turned off due to load-shedding of domestic gas, said Medical Specialist at ICU in PIMS Dr. Muhammad Haroon while talking to ‘The News’ on Saturday.
He added that out of 106 patients, 26 patients were admitted to ICU at PIMS while 15 were referred to other healthcare facilities due to non-availability of space in the ICU. The rest of the patients were treated in Emergency Department of the hospital and sent home after cure, he said.
He added that he collected data on cases of gas poisoning from other hospitals too including Benazir Bhutto Hospital where he had served earlier. Data shows that the BBH received as many as 78 patients of gas poisoning from November 2014 to January 2015.
The BBH admitted 21 of the total patients of which 11 could not survive, said Dr. Haroon.
‘The News’ also learnt that not less than 90 cases of gas poisoning have been reported at Holy Family Hospital this winter so far while District Headquarters Hospital also received a good number of like cases.
Dr. Haroon said that gas heaters and other sources of heat that use domestic gas as fuel are the most common cause of gas poisoning in the country. “Heater gas contains carbon mono oxide gas that is one of the most dangerous gases. It has 600 times more affinity for blood cells.
It displaces oxygen and causes its deficit in blood leading to brain damage and ultimately death.”
He added that majority of patients with gas poisoning were presented to the hospitals with headache, vertigo, palpitations, clouding of consciousness, visual blurring. He said that in cases in which exposure is prolonged, the patient has fits, loss of balance, coma, brain damage, respiratory failure and if untreated, the patient loses life.
He explained that domestic gas has 92 per cent carbon mono oxide and two per cent cyanide gas along with other toxic gases. The first aid of any patient exposed to gas poisoning starts with removing the patient from the source to open air place. Then the patient should be given plenty of fluids especially tea and coffee and the best option is to take him or her to the nearest hospital to test amount of gas in blood, said Dr. Haroon.
He added that sometimes patients with small amounts of gas appear toxic and many times patients with life-threatening exposure are alert and conscious. So it is always better to get opinion from a qualified physician especially in pregnant women, old age fellows or small children. All kinds of gas sources like stove and heaters should be switched off after use and before going to sleep, said Dr. Haroon.