Question

1) People occasionally poison themselves with carbon monoxide by building a charcoal fire in an enclosed area. Assuming help arrives in time, what would be the most effective treatment: Placing the victim outdoors in fresh air, or administering pure oxygen? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

Administering pure oxygen is a more effective treatment to carbon monoxide poisoning than just placing the victim outside.

Explanation:

It takes a large amount of oxygen to get rid of carbon monoxide from the body, and there is only 20.95% of oxygen in air. Therefore, 100% pure oxygen is required to be administered for a few hours before the carbon monoxide can be removed from the bloodstream.

Carbon Monoxide gets attached to the hemoglobin in the blood, but does not benefit the body in any way.