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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

Tackling fume inhalation

Fumes inhaled into the lungs have the potential to do serious damage to the respiratory system. If you find a casualty you suspect has inhaled fumes, you must move them from the source, provided it does not put you at risk. Dangerous fumes include car exhaust, smoke, fumes from faulty domestic appliances, such as boilers, or blocked chimneys, fumes from smouldering foam-fiIIed upholstery, such as sofas, and tobacco smoke. Dry-cleaning solvents and some other chemicals also give off toxic fumes.

Damage from fumes

Accidental or deliberate inhalation of fumes - whether from a cigarette or the smoke in a burning building - is very damaging. The extent of the damage depends on the length of exposure and the type of fume. The Likelihood of fume inhalation increases dramatically if the Fire or leakage is in an enclosed space. It is important to know that people are usually overcome by the fumes of a fire well before the flames reach them.

Children and the elderly are the groups most Vulnerable to fames; children because of their size, and the eldery because they are generally less robust. Another problem is that injury to the casualty may not be obvious until up to 36 hours after exposure to the fumes, by which time irreparable damage to the lung tissue may have occurred.

Why are fumes harmful?

fire eats up oxygen, as do the materials that bum in a fire, which means little is left for a casualty to breathe. The burning materials give off toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and cyanide. These poison the casualty as thley breathe in and irritate the lining of their lungs, making them wheeze and cough. The heat of the fire burns the mouth, Throat and upper airways, which then swell and obstruct entry of air even more.

Signs and symptons of smoke fume inhalation

A hoarse voice or no voice at all. Drooling or dribbling. Soot in the nostrils or phlegm. Singed hairs around the nostrils. Wheezing. Noisy breathing on inhaling. Burns around the mouth and necks. A large area of burns on any part of the body. Confusion. If you are in a situation where you have to escape from fumes, you need to employ a coordinated set of actions that, ideally has been discussed previously with other members of the household.