Why does carbon monoxide poisoning produce a rosy cheeks?
phoenixgal – The reason is that when carbon monoxide is breath into the lungs, it passes from the lung alveolar spaces and into the blood capillaries where it has a much stronger ability to combine with hemoglobin in the red cells, taking priority over oxygen. The result is a combination that produces a compound called carboxyhemoglobin which blocks out normal oxygen and produces a red colored compound in the red cells which flow through the skin capillaries of the cheek and other body areas, Death results from lack of oxygen in the red blood cells throughout the body and all its tissues which develop a red coloration..
