What are the effects of carbon monoxide on the human body?
When we breathe, carbon monoxide combines with the red blood cells in the blood and displaces the oxygen our bodies need to survive. Carbon monoxide combines with the red blood cells over 200 times more easily than oxygen and creates a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation. Carbon monoxide instead of oxygen then gets carried to the vital organs through the bloodstream. Our organ tissues require oxygen; without it, our bodies start to asphyxiate or suffocate. It takes the body much longer to eliminate carbon monoxide than to absorb it, which is one reason why exposure can be so dangerous.
When we breathe, carbon monoxide combines with the red blood cells in the blood and displaces the oxygen our bodies’ needs to survive. Carbon monoxide combines with the red blood cells over 200 times more easily that oxygen and creates a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation. Carbon monoxide then gets carried to the vital organs throughout the bloodstream instead of oxygen. Our organ tissues require oxygen; without it, our bodies start to asphyxiate or suffocate. It takes the body much longer to eliminate carbon monoxide that to absorb it, which is one reason why exposure can be so dangerous.
