Wow -- Arkansas can get cold and windy. The Monday after Thanksgiving proved it. When the cold winds blow, we have another problem: Mainly staying warm without dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.

However, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning doesn't just happen in the winter from faulty furnaces and heaters. If you have a gas water heater, charcoal grill, gas stove or oven, you need to be careful.

I know because we had a carbon monoxide monitor in our house in Iowa and it started buzzing loudly in JULY, not December. I couldn't believe it, but I called our gas company and got out of the house. They tested our furnace and gas appliances. Our gas oven was emitting the poisonous, deadly fumes.

We immediately had our gas oven replaced and counted our blessings that we had a carbon monoxide monitor.

If you have appliances or heaters fueled with gasoline, natural gas, propane, kerosene or charcoal, you need to have carbon monoxide detectors in your homes.

Electric appliances and heaters do not have open flames so they will not produce carbon monoxide. We love our all-electric home in the village.

If you feel nauseous, dizzy or sleepy, symptoms similar to the flu or even food poisoning, get out of the house. Make sure everyone else is out of the house too. Go outside and get fresh air. Just do it. Don't think about it because part of CO poisoning is that you cannot reason well.

If you feel better right away, you may have carbon monoxide poisoning and may have a faulty appliance. Call the gas company from another phone. Do not go back into the building or your house.

"Unfortunately, this tragedy is not so uncommon," According to Underwriters Laboratory's Web Site. "Each year, more than 250 people die and 10,000 seek medical attention after accidental carbon monoxide poisoning -- primarily because they don't recognize the warning signs of exposure or because their residence is among the 80 percent of U.S. homes that don't have a CO alarm."

People may die from the poisoning. Even if they don't die, they may be brain damaged after prolonged exposure. Many times treatment involves, for a severe case, being put in a hyperbaric chamber. The chamber allows a patient to breathe 100 percent oxygen under pressure. This is the same treatment that deep sea divers get for the bends.

Dying or becoming brain damaged or spending time in a hospital won't help make the holiday season brighter. The holiday season will be much brighter if you give someone you love a carbon monoxide detector.

The year before we had our carbon monoxide scare in our house, I had seen a program about the deadly affects of CO. A couple of years before that, I read the story of a family that went to sleep and had trouble waking up. Not all of them did. And, those that did spent a lot of time in the hospital and in rehabilitation.

We gave our sons and their grandparents carbon monoxide detectors for Christmas. As far as we know, they've never had to use them. Still, we have peace of mind knowing they are protected.

If you don't need any more knickknacks or gadgets for your house, suggest your family buy a detector, available at most hardware stores or home centers. Another thing that gives me piece of mind in Bella Vista is being a member of the Bella Vista Ambulance Service. I don't have to worry about whether my insurance will cover my ambulance call. They even have all the information to fill out our claims.

Or, suggest that your family get you membership to the Bella Vista Ambulance Service as your gift, and ask them to call Ann Dahlke at 855-4454 to make arrangements. It's only $40 a year for a family.

These are gifts that keep on giving.

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Andra Atteberry is a Weekly Vista staff writer. A former Iowa State Representative, she has taught high school English and journalism.