I often fantasize about going to bed and never waking up, that would be my preferred way to go, and I genuinely wish it happened to me. Being asleep, dreaming of who knows what, and suddenly, carbon monoxide starts sneaking into my bloodstream. This stuff is really sneaky cause it's colorless, odorless, and tasteless.
So I imagine this:
Carbon monoxide (CO) starts binding to the iron in my hemoglobin. It's got this crazy high affinity for it, about 200 times more than oxygen. This means my red blood cells start picking up CO instead of oxygen. While I'm in a deep sleep completely unaware, my body is already in a relaxed state. This means the initial symptoms of CO poisoning, like headaches and dizziness, might be absent or subtle. Instead, I might just feel a deepening of my sleep, a drift into a dreamless void.
My brain would be one of the first to feel it. Neurons would start to malfunction as they're deprived of their vital oxygen supply. As COHb levels rise, my body's compensatory mechanisms would kick in. My heart rate might increase initially as my body tries to compensate for the reduced oxygen delivery. But as COHb levels continue to rise, my heart rate might slow, and my breathing could become shallow. The final stage would be a peaceful fade into nothingness. It's a painless process, unlike other forms of asphyxiation that cause tissue damage and distress.
So I imagine this:
Carbon monoxide (CO) starts binding to the iron in my hemoglobin. It's got this crazy high affinity for it, about 200 times more than oxygen. This means my red blood cells start picking up CO instead of oxygen. While I'm in a deep sleep completely unaware, my body is already in a relaxed state. This means the initial symptoms of CO poisoning, like headaches and dizziness, might be absent or subtle. Instead, I might just feel a deepening of my sleep, a drift into a dreamless void.
My brain would be one of the first to feel it. Neurons would start to malfunction as they're deprived of their vital oxygen supply. As COHb levels rise, my body's compensatory mechanisms would kick in. My heart rate might increase initially as my body tries to compensate for the reduced oxygen delivery. But as COHb levels continue to rise, my heart rate might slow, and my breathing could become shallow. The final stage would be a peaceful fade into nothingness. It's a painless process, unlike other forms of asphyxiation that cause tissue damage and distress.
