No CO, Yet Room Causes Headache/Dizziness

9 years ago

On occasion I sleep in the guest room when hubby is snoring. Perhaps a few times a year. I keep the door closed to keep out our several pets so that I can get a good night's sleep. Recently I slept there, and woke with a headache and dizziness. When I left the room, the headache and dizziness disappeared. This has never happened before. I thought maybe there is a CO problem, but there is a Kidde Nighthawk CO alarm in that room, that showed "0". Just to be sure, I bought a brand new Kidde Nighthawk CO alarm for the room, and it too showed "0". I slept there again just to see if it would happen, and again I woke dizzy.

Nothing has been changed in the room in the way of new paint or fabrics or anything. The only thing I can think of is that it's summer so we run the A/C with the fan on the "On" setting rather than "Auto" to keep the cool air circulating around the 3-story house. The last time I slept in that bedroom, we were still on heat which we leave on the "Auto" setting. Could the constant blowing air have something to do with the headache/dizziness? There is a return register in that room. I am stumped, and wondering if you guys might have some advice.

This post was edited by Sahmmy on Fri, Jul 11, 14 at 21:56

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Comments (10)

tigerdunes
9 years ago
Put your husband in the room for several nights and see if he suffers any ill effects.

IMO
mike_home
9 years ago
I suggest setting the thermostat to auto for a couple of days and then sleeping in the room. If you have no headache or dizziness you will know running the fan constantly is causing the problem. If that is the case, then whatever is affecting you is being pulled into the room through the duct work from another part of the house.

Does the duct work go through the garage or any other part of the house that may have fumes? It may not be CO but something else that does not agree with you.

This post was edited by mike_home on Thu, Jul 10, 14 at 11:34
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mrjasondude
9 years ago
Just a guess, the door closed might be creating a negative pressure in the room. Whether that would cause headaches or dizziness I couldn't say but you could try sleeping there with the door open as a test.
natebear zone 10B
9 years ago
Mold?
User
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I will try them all.
SaltiDawg
9 years ago
mrjasondude,

I had lots of experience in being in an environment with a vacuum and also with a pressure. Neither condition caused headaches or dizziness.
ionized_gw
9 years ago
First you are confusing correlation with cause and effect. It is a common problem. If your observations are reproducible, you might start looking for environmental causes. There are way too many uncontrolled variables in your situation to fly off the handle and start buying CO detectors and other equipment, or blaming the HVAC system.

That considered, A partial vacuum in the sleeping room (induced by the HVAC system for more than one reason) can cause air to be sucked in through leaks from other areas, rooms or outside. You can draw in allergens, fumes and whatnot from the attic, outside or a crawlspace.

I agree with sleeping with the door open as a test. In addition, with the fan on, and the door cracked open just a little, which way does the air blow, in or out of the room? Is the door undercut significantly? Where are your supplies and returns? These are all things that will indicate and influence pressure differentials.
weedmeister
9 years ago
Where is the hot water heater? Where is its vent?
k_rider
9 years ago
May be something as easy as changing the linen or the pillow and blanket......
ionized_gw
9 years ago
Coulda been an upper respiratory or ear infection that had a brief hold, but the OP managed to kick quickly.