First Aid
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide is an odourless, tasteless and colourless gas that displaces oxygen. Here is how to prevent and treat carbon monoxide poisoning when burning a stove in a tent or snow cave.
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a gas with no smell, taste or colour — which is why it is hard to detect. Carbon monoxide is dangerous to people because it displaces oxygen and makes us suffocate almost without noticing it.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is important to be aware of if you burn paraffin in a tent or snow cave.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
- Headache (most common)
- Weakness
- Nausea
- Dizziness
If you yourself notice such symptoms and are near a gas source — get yourself out into fresh air at once. Make sure gas sources are shut off and air the space well before you stay in a room, a tent or a snow cave where there may have been a lot of carbon monoxide.
Prevention
Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning by always keeping good ventilation when you burn gas in a tent or snow cave. Make an air channel that draws a draught through the space, not just an open vent.
Treatment
Otherwise, the person is treated like any other unconscious casualty:
- Check that the casualty is breathing.
- Examine whether the casualty has any bleeding.
- Prevent heat loss.
And make sure to call 113.
Next steps
- Life-saving first aid — fresh air, recovery position, breathing
- Alerting the emergency services — always 113 if CO poisoning is suspected
- Campfire — prevention — ventilation in tents and lavvos
- First aid on the trail — the hub
Learn more
- Norsk Folkehjelp — first-aid courses and wilderness medicine
- Norges Røde Kors — first aid and rescue corps
- Norsk Fjellmedisinsk Selskap — mountain and outdoor medicine
- Helsedirektoratet — first aid
Text: Snuitide (2022), revised 2026.