Mcs Referral & Resources

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for MCS Referral & Resources Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas that is vital for human life at low levels but which also can kill you in seconds, leave you in a coma, or poison you for life at higher levels. All red-blooded animals produce CO constantly in the normal breakdown of their heme proteins (such as hemoglobin in red blood cells, myoglobin in muscle, and cytochromes throughout the body), and this production is increased in response to stress of any kind, whether physical, chemical, biological, or mental. CO also is produced by the breakdown of certain inhaled and ingested chemicals such as methylene chloride, aka dichloromethane, which is a common solvent and propellant used in spray cans of all kinds.Some of the CO thus produced is bound tightly to hemoglobin, transported to the lungs, and exhaled, but CO also binds to other proteins and is active in at least 90 pathways, including as a gaseous neurotransmitter in the regulation of learning, memory, heart rate, respiration and vasodilation. Of most significance to people with MCS is that CO controls sensory sensitization and adaptation to lights, odors and sounds. All these effects occur at relatively low levels of CO (under 5ppm in non-smokers), so--unless adapted or habituated to much greater exposures (as smokers are, for example)--most humans are very sensitive to breathing or producing more CO.CO poisoning should be suspected whenever any of the following "flu-like" symptoms persist or recur regularly indoors, especially if reported by more than one person at a time:

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