Carbon monoxide connects to red blood cells, robbing your body of the oxygen it requires to survive. It combines with these cells more than 200 times more easily than oxygen, creating a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, on lieu of oxygen, then gets carried to the vital organs by the bloodstream. Simply put, carbon monoxide deprives your body of oxygen. Organs need oxygen; when they don’t have it, they begin to suffocate.
It takes your body a long time to eliminate carbon monoxide; however, it can be absorbed much more quickly.