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Keep warm keep well
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Keep warm keep well
Check your heaters are safe
Carbon monoxide kills more than 50 people each year in England and Wales. Levels that don’t kill can cause serious harm to health if breathed in over a long time. Carbon monoxide is given off by cooking or heating appliances that are incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated.
You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, so the best way to protect yourself is to have all gas and fossil fuel cooking and heating appliances, and flues and chimneys, serviced regularly. The servicing (and any installation) should be done by a registered engineer, for example:
Gas appliances - find a registered installer on the Gas Safe Register (opens new window)Solid fuel appliances - find a HETAS registered installer (opens new window)
Oil appliances - find an OFTEC registered installer (opens new window)
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, feeling tired and sick, and difficulty in thinking clearly. If you suffer from these symptoms and you think they could be caused by carbon monoxide exposure:
- stop using ALL your cooking and heating appliances
- open the windows in your home
- see your doctor at once
- call a qualified engineer to check all your cooking and heating appliances
