Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Lynn on 21/11/2004 11:37:30
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Hi.
I am trying to find out about how carbon monoxide poisoning can effect unborn babies and childrens health, but I am having lots of difficulty.
PLEASE HELP MY CHILDREN
I really need your help please don't press the DELETE BUTTON
PLEASE HELP
I would be grateful of any help, advice or information you can give me. studies carried out. I Know studies have been carried out but i don't understand medical terms.
My name is Lynn and I have suffered from Asthma since birth. I also have high blood pressure. I have never smoked or drunk any alcohol, I seem to have problems with memory at present too.
I was carbon monoxide poisoned for approx. 11years by a faulty gas fire which was leaking into our lounge. The gas company say they poisoned me.
The fire was faulty from when we moved into the house. I had two children at that time a boy aged about 4, another boy aged approx. 18months.The 4 year old is now starting university. He suffered from vomiting,headaches,and ringing in his ears, I feel he was least effected due to school.
The 18month old still has to work at remembering things, and can still be very forgetful, at school his teacher would say he could be found wondering the classroom unsure of what to do it was like the message got lost on the way to his brain. also suffered from vomiting and headaches, asthma ect,
My 3rd child was a girl who was exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning throughout my pregnancy, she was born 8 weeks early weighing 3lb 6oz she was born with metabolic acidosis, IRDS, she required resuscitation nasal oral suction and oxygen by bag and mask. Her heart rate was more than 100 throughout,Apgars at 1 minute 6 at 5 9. sorry i don't know what that means. At School she required extra help. She also suffered from headaches and vomiting asthma ect.
Next and last my son was poisoned throughout my pregnancy he was also 4 weeks premature, also. He is the one with coarctation of the aorta. pregnancy scans showed calcifications and he was thought to have C. F or a bowel problem, At birth he had IRDS ect wouldn't feed and the same day was moved to another hospital for tests the test were not carried out as her developed breathing problems and was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta, heart murmur, and operated on at 6 days old. He has also had two ballooned dilatation for narrowing and at a few months old was diagnosed with Tom Smiths Arthritis also known as Old Septic Hip, He has problems with school work still, when he was a baby/toddler he was always vomiting. head banging. suffered from asthma ect
My late husband died in 1999.
STUDY INFORMATION WILL BE A BIG HELP.
The SIX main questions i want answers to are:
1. Could the carbon monoxide poisoning have caused my babies to be born premature?
2. Could the carbon monoxide poisoning have caused my son to have coarctation of the aorta?
3. Could the carbon monoxide poisoning have caused my children to have learning difficulties?
4. Could it lead to or make worse asthma or eczema?
I AM NEW TO USING THE WEB SO I AM HAVING DIFFICULTY FINDING THE ANSWERS I NEED!
Other thing which has been bothering me for a while is.
5. My son who was aged 18 months at the start of the carbon monoxide poisoning teacher wrote me a letter while he was in school she said, He makes inappropriate responses in class during discussions as if he has not heard the question. Responses can be very confused for example, although he appears to be colour blind it is difficult to know if he sees one thing and says another. His reading comprehension is poor although mechanical reading is quite good, Again predictions are inappropriate as is recall of characters and events.
Sequencing is very poor with him failing to pick up visual clues correctly. He finds non-fiction reading very difficult being unable to pick out main points. He cannot order or organise information. He is now 8 years old but in English he operates at level 2. He cannot follow 2 or more directions and is often found wandering in the classroom unsure of what to do. A specialist teacher in speech and language supported these findings.
6. What are the long term effects on children and unborn babies of carbon monoxide poisoning?
Could this have been caused by the carbon monoxide poisoning, He will still admits that he forgets thing now?
My youngest son seems to me to be following this path also. (I was pregnant with him before, during and after we were poisoned.)
My oldest son had ringing in the ears, I always felt tiered, I suffered from headaches, High Blood pressure (none in my family) my face was red in colour but I put that down to my eczema, my pules way always beating very fast. My second to oldest son was born at 40 weeks weight alb 13oz.
The two that were born during the carbon monoxide poisoning scans both showed abdominal calcification.
My 8 weeks premature daughters was born by assisted breech delivery, initial blood gases showed metabolic acidosis, she was given plasma and then commenced on an IV infusion of 10% Dextrose and prophylactic Penicillin which was stopped on day 4 after blood culture results were negative. (I think i had a test like this when I was pregnant but was told nothing would grow on it so I was clear, surly carbon monoxide poisoning would nt show anything as its a poison.) Her chest x-ray showed consolidation in the right lung consistent with respiratory distress syndrome.
My youngest son also needed extra anti natal care as he was thought to have C.F. he was born premature showed signs of intra-abdominal calcification. Initial investigations suggested an intract gastrointestinal tract, subsequently there was a deterioration in his condition and he was found to have coarctation of the aorta.
My youngest is having extra help at school as did my older two children. The oldest has just started university and i feel he was the least effected due to going to school.
My memory is really bad some days, and I think 3 of the children have the same problem Will our memory improve?
Any help or advice you can offer my children and myself we would be really grateful of.
Thanks Again
Best Regards.
Lynn.
PLEASE FORWARD ON TO ANY ONE WHO CAN HELP. MANY THANKS!
SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Were you symptomatic during any of this time?
(Headaches, nausea, vomiting, sore throats, lethargy, etc.…) yes, HEADACHES, VOMITING, MY PULSE WAS FAST, TIREDNESS, MY OLDEST SON HAD AND STILL DOES HAVE RINGING IN HIS EARS, MY YOUNGEST VOMITED FOR NEARLY 4 YEARS ON AND OFF THIS WAS CALLED OESOPHAGEAL REFLEX? THE CHILDREN ALWAYS STARTED VOMITING BEGINNING OF WINTER I WAS SO FED UP OF HEARING ITS ONLY A BUG OR VIRUS, I WAS SNAP HAPPY BAD TEMPERED, POOR MEMORY, MY DAUGHTER HAD THE SORE THROATS BUT STILL DOES. THE OLDEST 3 CHILDREN OUT OF 4 HAD AND THE YOUNGEST STILL HAS LEARNING DIFFICULTIES, MY THREE BOYS ARE COLOUR BLIND RED/GREEN, MY OLDEST NEVER GOT ASTHMA HE WAS AT SCHOOL THE OTHER 3 GOT ASTHMA. THERE MAY HAVE BEEN MORE SYMPTOMS BUT MY MEMORY IS STILL POOR,
Were you on any medications during these pregnancies? yes, FOR ASTHMA AND ECZEMA BEFORE BEING POISONED LATER ON DURING THE POISONING I WAS TREATED FOR DEPRESSION AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE YET THESE ARE CONDITIONS WHICH DON'T RUN IN MY FAMILY.
Between what months were you pregnant with your two youngest?
MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN AUGUST, MY SON JUNE I GAINED ONLY A KILOGRAM WITH MY YOUNGEST OF THE TWO THE OTHER I LOST WEIGHT, I HAD EXTRA SCANS ECT, BLOOD TESTS ECT BUT NOTHING WAS FOUND I HAD A BLOOD TEST TO SEE IF ANYTHING WOULD GROW ON IT BUT IT DID NOT I THINK NOW IT WOULD NOT HAVE AS I WAS BEING POISONED.
How was the problem discovered?
THE PROBLEM WAS ONLY DISCOVERED BECAUSE I DECIDED TO HAVE A NEW FIRE, THIS HAD A SAFETY CUT OUT ON IT I DID NOT KNOW THIS THE FIRE KEPT CUTTING OUT AND I CALLED THE ENGINEER WHO DISCONNECTED IT DUE TO WHAT HE CALLED SPILLAGE INTO MY LOUNGE. HE TOLD ME TO CONTACT MY GAS COMPANY WHO ALSO SAID THERE WAS SPILLAGE INTO MY LOUNGE. FLUE SPECIALISTS WERE SENT THEY TOOK OUT LOTS OF RUBBLE FROM IN THE FLUE SOME LARGE PIECES MY GAS COMPANY HAD SERVICED MANY TIMES AND EVEN FITTED A NEW FIRE WITH A BLOCKED FLUE. WHICH HAD BEEN BLOCKED I BELIEVE ALL THE TIME WE HAD LIVED THERE NEARLY 11 YEARS? I THINK EVENTUALLY HAD I NOT HAD A NEW FIRE WE MAY ALL HAVE BEEN KILLED.
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Lynn,
I'm just saying sorry for what you have been through/are going through..... I have found this site which has email facility to send questions to http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/ This is the link to the contacts section where you can email the site doctor http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/contact.htm .......... there are others too. I am certainly out of my depth to answer your questions but perhaps someone else here will be able to offer more info. All I can do is wish you luck...
Just found this other site too http://www.carbon-monoxide-poisoning.com/
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
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Yes Lynn, the neurological and behavioral effects of carbon monoxide poisoning can be permanent, unfortunately. Would it make asthma and eczema worse? Don't know. I would guess not, because those are generally allergic type reactions, however, the flushing of your face caused by the CO toxicity might have made your eczema appear worse. Haven't found anything that relates to coarctation of the aorta or clacifications in the abdomen, but low birth weight and metabolic acidosis definitely are related to the CO exposure. Prematurity? Most of the articles I read give fetal death as a result, but not so much prematurity. However, I should think it could cause it by putting the fetus in distress. Learning disabilities -- definitely. Here's a site that deals with CO exposure during pregnancy specifically http://www.gasdetection.com/TECH/co.html
What a nightmare for you and your family, and shame on the docs for not diagnosing it properly. A better history would have told them that. However, it's a difficult diagnosis to make. The biggest clue, to me, was that the symptoms began every winter. I assume you have a CO detector in your home now?