Has anyone had a high CO reading?

[MissChanandlerBong22]

Hi

I just had my 16w appointment and they did the CO test. I got a high reading - 10ppm - consistent with a smoker.

I don’t smoke. Neither does my husband.

The only gas appliance in our house is the boiler, which was installed at the beginning of the year by a Gas Safe engineer and has a carbon monoxide detector next to it (I’ve checked the CO monitor is working, and it is).

The only other explanation is pollution. I do live next to a road but not a hugely busy one.

Has anyone else had an unexplained high reading? My midwife told me not to worry, it can just be pollution and can resolve itself, and we’ll test it again next week.

Yes I have had a 7 or 8ppm can't remember which whilst I lived on a very busy main road.

I had been a smoker at booking in too so I think they just didn't believe I had quit smoking, which I had 100%

Another reason could be using a car with a faulty exhaust, could this be possible?

@JackJack84

😱 it could conceivably be that. Our car is really old and knackered. I haven’t noticed any signs of it having problems but that is a possibility.

I had carbon monoxide poisoning from a car once. Not an old car either. It was only 2 at the time. Unfortunately the garage found nothing wrong with it. It was omitting fumes from the auxiliary heater but intermittently so the garage was never able to detect it.

@MissChanandlerBong22 might be worth getting your exhaust checked just in case

@budgun

😱 How did you figure out what it was in the end if the garage couldn’t pick it up?

My partners colleague had this.

Non smoker but they didnt believe here.

Shes a gardener. Turned out to be the mower, trimmers and the blowers.

I had this. Got auto referred to the NHS smoking cessation service (even though I don’t smoke) and they said they’re getting a tonne of incorrect referrals since covid. Apparently it has something to do with the way the machines are being cleaned, they reckon water damage is making the readings less effective.

We have a surplus of CM detectors and took them out in the cars with us to be on the safe side, but it sounds like it’s more likely to be a damaged machine.

@glasspaw

Oh! Well that gives me hope, I’m going to pray it’s a faulty machine. It’s odd because I obviously had a CO test in my last pregnancy and had the exact same lifestyle then (if anything I had a greater exposure to pollution) and I got a reading along the lines you’d expect - 2PPM or something.

I’m going to take the car to the garage to get it checked and take a portable CO monitor out with us when we go out in the car and see if it’s that.

But I’m really hoping it’s a faulty machine!

[quote MissChanandlerBong22]@budgun

😱 How did you figure out what it was in the end if the garage couldn’t pick it up?[/quote]

I had lots of symptoms of long term low exposure to CM. The doctor suggested it. Fought with the garage and ended up trading the car in and gradually my symptoms disappeared- the t took months for some though.

Is your carbon monoxide detector definitely in the right place and at the correct height? We had a leak in ours and the gas engineer said if we'd had our detectors at the correct height then they would have gone off. No idea how long I'd been breathing in carbon monoxide for while pregnant 🙈

@Daffodil21

That’s a good point, I’ll check the instructions - thank you.

Was everything ok with your pregnancy? I’m so scared I’ve done the baby irreparable harm even though I’ve still no idea how this has happened.

@MissChanandlerBong22 no idea tbh. I told the midwife the next day as I happened to have an appointment. She didn't seem concerned and didn't use the carbon monoxide thing to check (I didn't know they existed at this point or I would have asked). I haven't given birth yet - due to have a section next week so just got to hope all is well and there is no damage. I did have a little look online, and it seems like it's probably ok if the mother wasn't affected to the point of passing out etc x

I had a high-ish reading a couple of weeks ago and had a little panic about it and then the midwife left a message the next morning saying that all the women who went in after me had even higher readings so she says the reader must be faulty.

@Daffodil21

Ah I see - that’s good to know. I hope everything goes well with your section ☺️

@Squibble84

Thank you. I haven’t had any message like that from my midwife but it’s good to know that the readers can be faulty and that’s a possibility!

The common sources of Carbon Monoxide (CO) are cookers, fires, boilers, oil and gas boilers, portable generators, oil or solid fuel cookers, gas or paraffin heaters, barbecues (BBQs), clogged chimneys, wood or gas fireplaces, cigarette smoke or any fossil fuel-burning appliances. A CO Alarm will not sound at a low level (you can buy alarms that display the level). It could also be due to a fault in a vehicle or exposure at a workplace. Ask your midwife to retake the test next time you see her. If you are concerned there is a danger in your home you can call the Gas Safety Advice Line on 0800 300 363 or in an emergency call 0800 111 999.

Just updating the thread for anyone who’s interested. We’ve got CO monitors installed around the house and haven’t picked up any CO. I called the Gas Safety Line and they were useless. The car is going to the garage today to be checked.

I was telling a neighbour about it and she mentioned that she was given a CO breath monitor as part of a trial NHS stop smoking initiative a couple of years ago. She dug it out and gave it to me to use. I got a reading of 2PPM (in line with what you’d expect). My husband got a reading of 3PPM (again what you’d expect).

So at the moment we think it’s either the car (because I travelled to the MW appointment by car, but haven’t been in it since) or it was a faulty reading at the appointment.

Hello! Similar to previous posts I'm a non-smoker and blew over 10 in my first pregnancy and over 8 in my second. The midwife said that as we had everything else checked out it must be the readers - she mentioned something about them playing up when the weather gets hot?!

Anyway - I wouldn't worry about causing the baby any harm it would have to be super high levels for a really prolonged time.

I think the readers just go bonkers, but always good to get your appliances checked out. I took a portable CO reader in the car with me and to work with me and it didn't give out any alarms.

My midwife also mentioned to me when I had mine done that mask wearing is affecting the readings too apparently.

I had a high reading & couldn’t figure it out. Then it occurred to me a couple of days later that I was sat in my friends garden the night before with the fire pit so it must have been that 😬 Been fine since 👍

try carrying a carbon monoxide indicator around with you for a few days, that will tell you if it is your car, or pollution when you are outside, or something in you house

Hi, I want to ask peoples opinion on being exposed to Carbon monoxide in early pregnancy. At 11 weeks I had to go into a house that had recently had a chimney fire. There was no notable smoke as it was a few days after and the house had been aired out but after a short time I began to feel faint and dizzy and had blurred vision. I went straight outside and after 5 minutes of fresh air I felt fine again.
I am presuming it was the possible toxins in the air or carbon monoxide that may me feel that way. I was in the house for around 20 minutes.
I am now so concerned that I may have affected my unborn baby. I have spoken to my midwife about it, obviously she cannot promise everything is okay but she told me not to worry too much. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts as I am now constantly concerned and paranoid that I have caused harm? Thank you

What on earth are the point of these tests if they don't give you clear guidance on what to do if you get a high reading? If they're just going to accuse you of being a smoker who is lying about having quit then what a waste of your time.