Florence May Have Left Town, but Related Health Concerns Linger

Hurricane Florence came and went, with most national media claiming that the Carolinas got off relatively easy compared with the disaster that could have ensued. While that’s small comfort to those who lost loved ones or property, to be sure, the fact is that urgent care centers still have work to do to help local patients in the region. Just days ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Clinical Guidance urging clinicians to check patients who were in affected areas during or immediately after the storm for signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. The problem isn’t the after affects of wind damage or flood waters, but alternate power sources people turned to when they lost power—gasoline generators to keep essential appliances running, and propane or charcoal grills used for cooking, etc. If used improperly, any of them could lead to a build-up of carbon monoxide to dangerous levels. Signs of severe CO poisoning include tachycardia, tachypnea, and hypotension. At a lower threshold, patients might experience tension-type headaches, dizziness, flu-like symptoms without a fever, drowsiness, chest pain, and altered mental status. Children, pregnant women and their unborn children, people with sickle cell disease, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses are most at risk.