Carbon monoxide poisoning has been tied to several traveler deaths. Here's how to stay safe on your trips
Carbon monoxide, often called the 'silent killer,' has no taste, odor or color, yet prolonged inhalation of the invisible gas has been tied to the recent deaths of several American tourists traveling abroad.
In March, 14-year-old Miller Gardner, son of former New York Yankees player Brett Gardner, died on a family vacation at a Costa Rica beach resort. A month prior, three American women were discovered dead in their Belize hotel room. In both cases, authorities have said carbon monoxide poisoning caused the deaths.
While many homes in the U.S. are equipped with alarms that detect the presence of the dangerous gas, travelers may need to take extra precautions to limit their exposure on the road.
Carbon monoxide is produced when natural gas is burned in appliances like boilers, pool heaters, gas stoves, fireplaces and dryers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
'Every carbon monoxide producing appliance is designed to take those toxic fuels out of the building,' said Charon McNabb, founder of the National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Foundation.
Without regular maintenance, McNabb said venting systems can corrode or shift, creating leak pathways for carbon monoxide to remain trapped indoors. The gas is then capable of traveling into nearby rooms through drywall, doors and air ducts.
A buildup of carbon monoxide in the air can diminish your ability to absorb oxygen, resulting in serious or fatal tissue damage to the brain, heart and muscles.
According to a 2019 study published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports, 905 U.S. lodging guests were poisoned by carbon monoxide from 2005 to 2018, resulting in 22 deaths.
In the U.S., requirements for carbon monoxide detectors in homes and hotels differ by state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
While vacation rental platforms like VRBO and Airbnb only require listed units to meet local regulations, owners can indicate whether a carbon monoxide alarm is present on the property within their listings.
McNabb advises travelers booking accommodations to call ahead of their stay to check for the presence of detectors in each guest room and ask about the location of their room within the building.
'Travelers may want to stay away from (rooms next to) pools and pool heaters because typically, the chemicals for the pools are kept in the mechanical room where the heater is stored, and those chemicals can corrode the metal much quicker, creating leak paths,' McNabb said, adding that rooms on higher floors can also provide a safer distance from gas-powered yard equipment.
'If you're not totally confident in the answers you get, play it safe and bring your own (carbon monoxide) alarm,' McNabb said.
Portable alarms are battery or outlet powered, pocket-sized devices capable of monitoring CO levels and alerting the user of unsafe levels. TSA permits travelling with carbon monoxide alarms, but lithium batteries should be taken out of the device and placed in carry-on luggage.
Kos Galatsis, CEO of Forensics Detectors, which sells air quality monitoring devices, suggests travelers keep the alarm by their bedside, as many poisonings occur while stationary or sleeping.
Prices for portable CO alarms online range drastically, but the most important feature to look out for is a UL 2034 certification, which designates the device is in line with national product safety standards.
Campers should avoid using portable gas stoves, gas-powered lanterns, power generators and flameless chemical heaters inside of tents, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
This is especially important when camping in high altitudes, where the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is increased.
Tents should also be pitched away from idling vehicles and campfire, according to the CPSC.
Initial symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure can easily be mistaken for the flu, jet lag or stomach bugs.
Signs of poisoning, according to Mayo Clinic, include:
- Dull headache
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Confusion
- Blurred vision
- Loss of consciousness
High levels of exposure can cause symptoms such as mental confusion and loss of muscle control to develop more rapidly.
If you or fellow travelers experience any of these symptoms, seek fresh air and medical advice immediately.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
36 minutes ago
- Forbes
Another Deadly Cancer That's Potentially Been Tamed By Globalization
'In my 30 years of oncology, we haven't talked about curing myeloma.' Those are the words of University of North Carolina professor of cancer policy, Norman Sharpless, as reported in the New York Times. For those who don't know, multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that's long been known as incurable. Which raises a question: what would readers do if they received a multiple myeloma diagnosis? It's no reach to say that most of us would ask the doctor relaying the horrible news if there's any hope, any cure, or any possible cure anywhere. This would particularly be true with myeloma since the traditional path to death within a year of diagnosis is described by the Times as 'extremely painful.' Enter Legend Biotech, a Somerset, NJ biotechnology company. The Times reports that the immunotherapy developed there loomed as a 'last-ditch' option five years ago for close to 100 myeloma patients. The encouraging, beautiful news is that a third emerged from what was traditionally a death sentence alive and cancer free. To say that what's happening at Legend Biotech is an exciting development insults understatement. Finally, after all this time there's progress. And the progress exists as optimism that we're on the doorstep of many more remarkable leaps. Which requires another pause. Though Legend is based in Somerset, NJ, its origins are Chinese. It raises a question: would readers facing death refuse the treatments developed by Legend, or some other pharmaceutical corporation operating in China? One assumes the question answers itself. On matters of life and death, there's a natural tendency among humans to do whatever it takes to survive, particularly if they have children. It's just a comment that when death stares us in the face, no pause is required. We're wired to search far and wide for whatever will keep us upright. The main thing is that while Legend is now New Jersey-based, it still has operations in China. Good. The more that the world is economically integrated, the better off we all are. In other words, it's not a 'national security' threat when great leaps of the AI, financial, or pharmaceutical variety are hatched somewhere not the United States. Figure that if trading lanes are open, it's as though the world's greatest products, services and cures are all being created right next door. And when market goods are crossing borders without regard to country origin, war of the shooting and bombing kind becomes frightfully expensive. Looked at in tax terms, Legend's global footprint is hopefully a reminder to U.S. tax writers that when it comes to innovative developments meant to cure some of the worst diseases, it's extraordinarily mistaken to tax 'Made in America' more favorably than 'Made Around the World.' The more that U.S. pharmaceutical companies avail themselves of global talent, the much better that American drugs will be. And the more that tax policy is neutral as applied to U.S. corporations, the more easily they'll be able to acquire the best of the best globally. The simple, and ultimately life-saving truth is that productivity is an effect of cooperation across as many hands, machines, and machines that think as possible. Drugs aren't unique in this regard. The more specialized cooperation in the development of moon-shot style cures, the quicker the arrival at the cure. Sharpless went on to tell the Times that 'This is the first time we are really talking seriously about cures in one of the worst malignancies imaginable.' The brilliant fruits of tessellated talents at opposite sides of the world. It's just something to remember. Cliched though it may sound, there's no limit to progress when specialized genius is combined. Let's not allow tax writers to erect barriers to this collaboration solely because genius occasionally has a foreign address.
Hamilton Spectator
44 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security
NEW YORK (AP) — A year from the largest World Cup ever, there has been no announcement on general ticket sales, prices for most seats, location of a draw or security arrangements as FIFA has mostly avoided disclosing details of an event set for 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada. There is uncertainty about whether fans from some nations will be welcome — 11 of the venues are located in the U.S., where all matches will be played from the quarterfinals on. Security is a concern, too. At the last major soccer tournament in the U.S., the 2024 Copa America final at Miami Gardens, Florida, started 82 minutes late after spectators breached security gates. 'That was certainly a reminder and a wake-up call if anybody needed it that those types of things are going to be used in terms of the ultimate assessment of whether this World Cup is successful,' said former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst. U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 nations exempted athletes, coaches, staff and relatives while not mentioning fans. Vice President JD Vance made what could be interpreted as a warning on May 6. 'Of course everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event. I know we'll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game,' he said. 'But when the time is up they'll have to go home. Otherwise they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,' he added, speaking alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Back in U.S. for first time in 32 years The 1994 World Cup sparked the launch of Major League Soccer with 12 teams in 1996, and $50 million in World Cup profits seeded the U.S. Soccer Foundation, tasked with developing the sport's growth. MLS now has 30 teams, plays in 22 soccer specific stadiums and has club academies to grow the sport and improve talent. Next year's tournament will include 104 games , up from 64 from 1998 through 2022, and the 11 U.S. stadiums are all NFL homes with lucrative luxury suites and club seating. It also will be the first World Cup run by FIFA without a local organizing committee. 'The legacy initiative of 2026 is around how we ensure that soccer is everywhere in this county,' U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson said. 'How do we ensure that every American can walk, ride their bike or take public transit to a safe place to play soccer? How do we make it to where every school in America has soccer accessible to their students? And how do we make it to wherever every American can truly see themselves in the game?' Interest in soccer has vastly increased in the U.S., with England's Premier League averaging 510,000 viewers per match window on NBC's networks last season and the European Champions League final drawing more than 2 million viewers in each of the past five years on CBS. However, CBS broadcast just 26 of 189 Champions League matches on TV in 2024-25 and streamed the rest. MLS drew about 12.2 million fans last year, second to 14.7 million in 2023-24 for the Premier League's 20 teams, but MLS has largely disappeared from broadcast TV since starting a 10-year contract with Apple TV+ in 2023 . Apple spokesman Sam Citron said the company does not release viewer figures. In a fractured television landscape, different deals were negotiated by FIFA, UEFA, MLS, the NWSL, the USSF and the five major European leagues. 'You basically have over 2,800 game windows per season aired in the United States and so that requires distribution largely on streaming platforms like Paramount+ or ESPN+, but it's difficult for new fan adoption and it makes reach kind of challenging,' said Gerry Cardinale, managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, which holds controlling interests in AC Milan and Toulouse and owns a non-controlling stake of Fenway Sports Group, parent of Liverpool. 'Kids today are getting weaned on Premier League football and Serie A football, and when you watch that as a product, it's hard for MLS to compete.' 1994 World Cup set attendance record The 1994 World Cup, a 24-nation tournament, drew a record 3.58 million fans for 52 matches. Ticket prices ranged from $25-$75 for most first round games and $180-$475 for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. FIFA, which has about 800 people working at an office in Coral Gables, Florida, says it will announce information on general tickets in the third quarter. It wouldn't say whether prices will be fixed or variable. Hospitality packages are available on FIFA's website through On Location. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $25,800 to $73,200 per person. Variable ticket pricing possible FIFA appears to be using variable pricing for this year's Club World Cup , played at 12 U.S. stadiums from June 14 to July 13, and some prices repeatedly have been slashed. Marriott Bonvoy, a U.S. Soccer Federation partner, has been offering free tickets to some of its elite members. Asked about Club World Cup ticket sales and team base camp arrangements, Manolo Zubiria, the World Cup's chief tournament officer, hung up four minutes and five questions into a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Brendan O'Connell, the publicist who arranged the interview, wrote in an email to the AP: 'The guest was not prepared for those questions.' FIFA's media relations staff would not make FIFA president Gianni Infantino available to discuss the tournament. Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, FIFA announced in May 1992 the draw would take place at Las Vegas on Dec. 18 or 19, 1993. FIFA has not revealed plans for this year's draw but appears to be planning for Las Vegas on Dec. 5. Regular ticket sales began in February 1993 for the U.S. soccer family and general first- and second-round sales started that June. Fans submitted lottery applications in October 1993 for games from the quarterfinals on. Teams could train away from World Cup cities While not detailing ticketing plans for next year's tournament, FIFA is spreading it beyond the host cites and lists about 60 possible base camps for teams to use, paired with hotels. Some are fancy — The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — and some more Spartan — the Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West in Arizona. Thousands of arrangements must be coordinated. Major League Baseball is drawing up its schedule to ensure that the four teams whose ballparks share parking lots with World Cup stadiums — in Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Philadelphia; and Seattle — won't play home games on the dates of tournament matches. Boris Gartner, CEO of La Liga North America, a joint venture of the Spanish soccer league and Relevent Sports, said the 2026 World Cup should be viewed as just another step in the sport's long-term growth in the United States. 'If you have a clear understanding of the market and the audience, a clear understanding of the value that these properties bring to media companies, and you mix content with a commercial strategy, with the right media distribution strategy, this is something that will continue to grow over the next two decades,' he said. 'If more people are watching the NWSL, more people are going to be interested in soccer that could potentially end up watching a Bundesliga game or La Liga game.' ___ AP soccer:
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security
NEW YORK (AP) — A year from the largest World Cup ever, there has been no announcement on general ticket sales, prices for most seats, location of a draw or security arrangements as FIFA has mostly avoided disclosing details of an event set for 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada. There is uncertainty about whether fans from some nations will be welcome — 11 of the venues are located in the U.S., where all matches will be played from the quarterfinals on. Security is a concern, too. At the last major soccer tournament in the U.S., the 2024 Copa America final at Miami Gardens, Florida, started 82 minutes late after spectators breached security gates. 'That was certainly a reminder and a wake-up call if anybody needed it that those types of things are going to be used in terms of the ultimate assessment of whether this World Cup is successful," said former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst. U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 nations exempted athletes, coaches, staff and relatives while not mentioning fans. Vice President JD Vance made what could be interpreted as a warning on May 6. 'Of course everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event. I know we'll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game,' he said. 'But when the time is up they'll have to go home. Otherwise they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,' he added, speaking alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Back in U.S. for first time in 32 years The 1994 World Cup sparked the launch of Major League Soccer with 12 teams in 1996, and $50 million in World Cup profits seeded the U.S. Soccer Foundation, tasked with developing the sport's growth. MLS now has 30 teams, plays in 22 soccer specific stadiums and has club academies to grow the sport and improve talent. Next year's tournament will include 104 games, up from 64 from 1998 through 2022, and the 11 U.S. stadiums are all NFL homes with lucrative luxury suites and club seating. It also will be the first World Cup run by FIFA without a local organizing committee. 'The legacy initiative of 2026 is around how we ensure that soccer is everywhere in this county," U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson said. "How do we ensure that every American can walk, ride their bike or take public transit to a safe place to play soccer? How do we make it to where every school in America has soccer accessible to their students? And how do we make it to wherever every American can truly see themselves in the game?' Interest in soccer has vastly increased in the U.S., with England's Premier League averaging 510,000 viewers per match window on NBC's networks last season and the European Champions League final drawing more than 2 million viewers in each of the past five years on CBS. However, CBS broadcast just 26 of 189 Champions League matches on TV in 2024-25 and streamed the rest. MLS drew about 12.2 million fans last year, second to 14.7 million in 2023-24 for the Premier League's 20 teams, but MLS has largely disappeared from broadcast TV since starting a 10-year contract with Apple TV+ in 2023. Apple spokesman Sam Citron said the company does not release viewer figures. In a fractured television landscape, different deals were negotiated by FIFA, UEFA, MLS, the NWSL, the USSF and the five major European leagues. 'You basically have over 2,800 game windows per season aired in the United States and so that requires distribution largely on streaming platforms like Paramount+ or ESPN+, but it's difficult for new fan adoption and it makes reach kind of challenging,' said Gerry Cardinale, managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, which holds controlling interests in AC Milan and Toulouse and owns a non-controlling stake of Fenway Sports Group, parent of Liverpool. 'Kids today are getting weaned on Premier League football and Serie A football, and when you watch that as a product, it's hard for MLS to compete.' 1994 World Cup set attendance record The 1994 World Cup, a 24-nation tournament, drew a record 3.58 million fans for 52 matches. Ticket prices ranged from $25-$75 for most first round games and $180-$475 for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. FIFA, which has about 800 people working at an office in Coral Gables, Florida, says it will announce information on general tickets in the third quarter. It wouldn't say whether prices will be fixed or variable. Hospitality packages are available on FIFA's website through On Location. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $25,800 to $73,200 per person. Variable ticket pricing possible FIFA appears to be using variable pricing for this year's Club World Cup, played at 12 U.S. stadiums from June 14 to July 13, and some prices repeatedly have been slashed. Marriott Bonvoy, a U.S. Soccer Federation partner, has been offering free tickets to some of its elite members. Asked about Club World Cup ticket sales and team base camp arrangements, Manolo Zubiria, the World Cup's chief tournament officer, hung up four minutes and five questions into a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Brendan O'Connell, the publicist who arranged the interview, wrote in an email to the AP: 'The guest was not prepared for those questions.' FIFA's media relations staff would not make FIFA president Gianni Infantino available to discuss the tournament. Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, FIFA announced in May 1992 the draw would take place at Las Vegas on Dec. 18 or 19, 1993. FIFA has not revealed plans for this year's draw but appears to be planning for Las Vegas on Dec. 5. Regular ticket sales began in February 1993 for the U.S. soccer family and general first- and second-round sales started that June. Fans submitted lottery applications in October 1993 for games from the quarterfinals on. Teams could train away from World Cup cities While not detailing ticketing plans for next year's tournament, FIFA is spreading it beyond the host cites and lists about 60 possible base camps for teams to use, paired with hotels. Some are fancy — The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — and some more Spartan — the Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West in Arizona. Thousands of arrangements must be coordinated. Major League Baseball is drawing up its schedule to ensure that the four teams whose ballparks share parking lots with World Cup stadiums — in Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Philadelphia; and Seattle — won't play home games on the dates of tournament matches. Boris Gartner, CEO of La Liga North America, a joint venture of the Spanish soccer league and Relevent Sports, said the 2026 World Cup should be viewed as just another step in the sport's long-term growth in the United States. 'If you have a clear understanding of the market and the audience, a clear understanding of the value that these properties bring to media companies, and you mix content with a commercial strategy, with the right media distribution strategy, this is something that will continue to grow over the next two decades," he said. 'If more people are watching the NWSL, more people are going to be interested in soccer that could potentially end up watching a Bundesliga game or La Liga game.'
