Disease in roleplaying

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Anthony

That was probably carbon monoxide poisoning, not just low oxygen levels.

Would they have recovered so quickly from carbon monoxide poisoning? I thought it took hours.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Would they have recovered so quickly from carbon monoxide poisoning? I thought it took hours.

You'd feel better on getting fresh air pretty fast, though it will take a while to fully clear your system. CO poisoning is an very common hazard of running a propane heater in an enclosed area.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Anthony

You'd feel better on getting fresh air pretty fast, though it will take a while to fully clear your system.

I think the half-life for turning carboxyhaemoglobin back into oxyhaemoglobin is about five hours unless you get oxygen supplementation. About an hour breathing pure oxygen.

[namada]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Would they have recovered so quickly from carbon monoxide poisoning? I thought it took hours.

In addition to Anthony's reply, I can't imagine an ice-fishing hut being so air-tight that asphyxiation could be the cause. Maybe they do exist, and I just haven't seen one, idk. But as for CO poisoning, there are varying degrees of severity, but a diagnostic test is the only way to be 100% certain that was the issue, as far as I'm aware.

[dcarson]

There are half a dozen or so nitrogen deaths a year in the US. Often mislabeling, if you use a nitrogen tank instead of compressed air of oxygen you pass out with no warning. Going into a area that was nitrogen purged and you just drop. Usually a couple are that and then someone sees them and goes in to help thinking they fainted and drops also and both die.

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by dcarson

There are half a dozen or so nitrogen deaths a year in the US. Often mislabeling, if you use a nitrogen tank instead of compressed air of oxygen you pass out with no warning. Going into a area that was nitrogen purged and you just drop. Usually a couple are that and then someone sees them and goes in to help thinking they fainted and drops also and both die.

Very common in things like oil and gas where an N2 purge is typically used to prevent a flammable atmosphere in storage tanks.
May also apply in grain elevators and things for the same reason (don't know if they inert against dust explosions and/or spoilage).
The "death conga" (chain of dead people who tried to rescue one another) crops up depressingly often if you are in the accident investigation business.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

I think the half-life for turning carboxyhaemoglobin back into oxyhaemoglobin is about five hours unless you get oxygen supplementation. About an hour breathing pure oxygen.

Sure, but you don't need to actually flush it from your system to feel better, you just need to be getting sufficiently pure air that your remaining capacity is adequate.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Sure, but you don't need to actually flush it from your system to feel better, you just need to be getting sufficiently pure air that your remaining capacity is adequate.

Probably a combination of mild CO poisoning and mild oxygen deprivation, with neither severe enough to cause a major problem on its own (yet). Going from terrible to bad feels great.

[namada]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Probably a combination of mild CO poisoning and mild oxygen deprivation, with neither severe enough to cause a major problem on its own (yet). Going from terrible to bad feels great.

CO poisoning is oxygen deprivation, in a sense, since CO is lighter than air, it diffuses equally in the air sacs.

And with that said, this discussion is pointless. This thread is about disease, not CO poisoning, not asphyxiation. Disease...

[khorboth]

Originally Posted by Anthony

That was probably carbon monoxide poisoning, not just low oxygen levels.

The random guy with a compelling anecdote is certainly not an authority on CO or CO2 and I am not either.

His narrative holds up regardless of the cause or causes of his lack of oxygen to the brain.