Carbon monoxide is dangerous because it prevents your body from getting enough oxygen, which can quickly damage vital organs and cause death.

How it harms the body

• Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells much more strongly than oxygen does, forming carboxyhemoglobin and blocking oxygen from being carried around the body.

• This leads to “silent” oxygen starvation (hypoxia), so the brain, heart, and other organs do not receive the oxygen they need to function.

Why it’s especially dangerous

• Carbon monoxide has no smell, color, or taste, so people usually do not realize they are being poisoned until symptoms become severe.

• It often comes from everyday fuel-burning sources such as heaters, stoves, generators, or car exhaust in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, making accidental exposure common.

Health effects and risks

• Early symptoms can include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, and confusion, which are easy to mistake for the flu.

• Higher or longer exposure can cause loss of consciousness, heart rhythm problems, brain injury, and death, with young children, older adults, people with heart or lung disease, and pregnant women at higher risk of severe harm.