FORMER ENGLISH RUGBY UNION INTERNATIONAL SIMON HALLIDAY TALKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE

Leading CO awareness campaign, Project Shout is in London with medical expert Dr. Ellie Cannon warning the UK on the dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in the coming months.

Carbon Monoxide is an invisible odourless, colourless gas and experts believe that many more cases are going undiagnosed as people mistake symptoms for cold and flu.

Every day four people will go to hospital with Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning in English hospitals, as the cold weather continues and the British public turn up their heating the risk of poisoning increases. This teamed with the prominence of flu cases mean the risk of misdiagnosis will be at its highest at this time of year.

Dr. Ellie, said: “The main symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headaches, dizziness, weakness and chest pain – all things which are frequently associated with a bad cold or illness. However it is important to act quickly if you have any of these symptoms and visit your local GP.”

Project Shout Campaign Director, Rob Lyon advised: “winter always sees the onset of the cold or flu virus but it is important to identify when this might be something more serious. The symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to that of the flu but by investing in a carbon monoxide alarm you can add peace of mind to the home and rule this out as the cause of your illness.”

The so-called ‘silent killer’ is particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children and pregnant women. Of those who received treatment in 2014 over one third were in this category.

From the 1st October new legislation made it compulsory for landlords to fit a Carbon Monoxide alarm in properties with a solid fuel burning appliance i.e. a wood burner or open fire. Currently sixteen million homes in the UK do NOT have CO alarms fitted

In October 2015, Simon Halliday, former England International rugby player, and his partner were living in a rented flat in London. For several weeks the couple had been feeling confused, dizzy, lethargic and weak, both are very active individuals but Simon felt so under the weather he couldn’t continue training for an upcoming race. They put it down the arrival of winter and perhaps the onset of the common flu virus and didn’t think it could be anything more serious.
However when Simon noticed the boiler wasn’t operating properly he called out a gas engineer who immediately identified that it was emitting the dangerous gas.
His partner was then admitted to hospital and her readings were so high Simon was told to get himself to hospital to be examined; where he found his readings were even higher. The incident explained the worrying symptoms they had experienced and could have easily avoided with a device costing no more than £30.

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