As seasons cool, health officials issue carbon monoxide reminders

Temperatures are dropping and Iowans are keeping their furnaces and gas fires lit to heat their homes.
With the flipping of the switch to turn on heaters, and with the closure of windows, the chance of exposure to carbon monoxide increases, state and local health officials say.
The Iowa Department of Public Health encouraged Iowans last week to install new or check existing carbon monoxide detectors. Health officials said scheduling the checks of the monitors to coincide with the end of Daylight Saving Time helps homeowners remember to make the annual checks.
A few people have died in Calhoun County because of carbon monoxide poisoning, though not in recent years, Calhoun County Public Health Environmental Health Director Shelly Schossow said. One death was related to fumes from a furnace, the other from using a gas power washer that was improperly vented in a hog house.
Symptoms of exposure to carbon monoxide include headaches, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea and confusion. Anyone who suspects carbon monoxide poisoning or hears their detector sound an alarm should head outside immediately for fresh air and call 911, health officials said. 
Read more in the Nov. 8 edition.