Carbon Monoxide is an invisible gas that can make you very ill – or even worse.
Let’s find out how it affects the body…
When we breathe in, our body takes in oxygen from the air around us – we breathe it into our lungs. Oxygen in the air is then carried from the lungs in blood cells through our arteries (which are like tiny motorways for blood) to all over the body. You could say that the blood cells are like teeny tiny delivery drivers.
Have a look at your wrists.
You can see lots and lots of blue lines under your skin. These are you veins and arteries which act like roads for the blood to travel around the body.
Now, imagine there’s carbon monoxide in your home.
If you breathe it in, it also travels down to your lungs with the oxygen and gets picked up by the same delivery driving blood cells, who carry it around your body.
So now, as well as delivering oxygen, the blood is also delivering carbon monoxide.
The carbon monoxide is being greedy and is taking all the oxygen for itself. It’s starving your body of oxygen and making you feel really poorly.
It can even cause death – that’s how harmful it can be.
And that’s why we DON’T want it in our homes!
It’s important for grown-ups to get gas appliances checked regularly to make sure they’re working correctly and that the air around your home is nice and fresh!
And if you ever hear the alarm, tell an adult and leave the house until it has been checked by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.
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