Health Shisha smoke increasingly leads to acute poisoning

Clinic reports more cases of carbon monoxide poisoning from shisha

Shisha smoking is popular with teenagers and young adults. But water pipes are not as harmless as they seem at first glance, warn doctors at the University Hospital Dusseldorf (UKD). Because burning the water pipe charcoal produces carbon monoxide (CO), which can lead to life-threatening poisoning. This year alone, 40 shisha consumers had to be treated in the UKD.

Hookahs are trendy

The smoking of hookahs is in vogue. Many adolescents prefer shisha to regular cigarettes because they assume that it is the more harmless variant of tobacco use. However, experts emphasize again and again that there is an increased health risk through hookahs. This is confirmed by doctors at the University Hospital Düsseldorf (UKD) and warn of an increasing number of carbon monoxide poisonings caused by shishas.

Many users assume that water pipes are more harmless than conventional cigarettes. Experts warn against life-threatening CO poisoning. (Image: wisanuboonrawd / fotolia.com)

Rising number of CO poisonings

Just this year, according to a UKD statement, about 40 cases of CO poisonings from hookah smoking in the special pressure chamber of the University Hospital Düsseldorf (UKD) have been treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO).

The highly toxic, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas is produced by the burning of water pipe charcoal. Above all, if consumers in closed rooms without sufficient air supply smoke quickly without dropping the pipe, not enough oxygen in the organism, so the information. As a result, headache, tiredness, drowsiness, nausea, dizziness or even unconsciousness occur.

Gas is often not noticed

These warning signs must be taken seriously. Because carbon monoxide is highly toxic and responsible for most of the deadly poisoning worldwide. The gas inhibits the transport of oxygen in the blood, causing the organs are no longer sufficiently supplied with oxygen. In the worst case, this leads to choking: "Carbon monoxide poisoning is life-threatening," emphasizes the senior pressure chamber doctor of the university hospital, Dr. med. Sven Dreyer. "More caution and care can save lives," says the doctor.

Despite the dangers, the gas is still often underestimated. The problem: It causes little irritation and is therefore often not noticed. The early poisoning symptoms would often not be linked to CO.

Open window and leave room

If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, you should immediately open all windows, leave the room and call the fire brigade. According to the doctors of the UKD, only a few breaths would suffice to poison oneself.

Treatment in the pressure chamber

If water pipe smokers are exposed to high doses of toxic gas, they must be treated in a special pressure chamber with the so-called Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO). 100 percent oxygen is given to the person affected by overpressure in order to displace the CO from the red blood pigment and vital organ tissues, such as the brain. How long the patient has to stay in the pressure chamber depends on the amount of inhaled gas.

Risk due to defective gas heating

In addition to shisha smoking, however, there are also risk factors for CO poisoning in one's own household, warn the UKD experts. An example is gas heaters that do not completely burn, e.g. because the burner is sooty. An important indicator of escaping carbon monoxide here is the color of the flame, which in this case is no longer blue, but yellow.

It should also be avoided to set up a charcoal grill or an open fire in confined spaces. "When burning carbon, charcoal, the gas is produced and can not be taken off in enclosed spaces," explains dr. Joachim Windolf, Director of the Clinic for Hand and Trauma Surgery at the UKD, who also looks after the Düsseldorf pressure chamber.

Never set up barbecue in closed rooms

As the UKD reports, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) based on 2013 tests assume that after just two hours of burning 800 grams of charcoal in the garage or living room, a gas concentration (3,000 ppm / parts per million ), which is so poisonous that it could lead to unconsciousness and even death.

Carbon monoxide detectors can save lives

To protect against CO poisoning, experts recommend the purchase of carbon monoxide detectors. These are available in every hardware store and are simply mounted to the wall. Attention: Smoke detectors, which are now mandatory nationwide, can not detect the gas and therefore do not replace a CO detector. (No)