Occupational Health
Occupational health is a branch of public health that focuses on promoting and maintaining the highest level of physical, mental, and social well-being for workers across all occupations.
OBJECTIVES OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH :
1. The upkeep and advancement of the health and productivity of employees are its key goals.
2. Enhancing working conditions and creating an atmosphere that is safe and healthy.
Ergonomics -
Physical Hazards - Physical hazards are a subcategory of occupational risks and include environmental dangers that may be harmful with or without physical contact. Ergonomic risks, radiation risks, heat and cold stress risks, vibration risks, and noise risks are all physical risks.
a- Heat and cold stress : It can happen when the temperature differs greatly from the ideal range (68-74 degrees Fahrenheit). Excessive sweating can result in a number of heat-related disorders when the body is subjected to heat stress. Numerous cold-related diseases, such as hypothermia, frostbite, etc., can also be brought on by extreme cold.
b- Occupational vibration hazards most frequently happen when a worker operates machinery that vibrates as a sign of its functionality (e.g., chainsaws, power drills, etc.). Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is the sort of vibration syndrome that occurs most frequently . The blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and joints in the hand, wrist, and arm may get damaged as a result of prolonged exposure to HAVS.
c- Noise - In many industries, noise poses a health risk. Noise has two different effects:
(i)_ Auditory complications include hearing loss that may be temporary or permanent.
(ii)_ Non-auditory impacts, including anxiety, exhaustion, difficulty speaking, decreased productivity, and irritation.
Chemical Hazards - such as various acids, alkalis and metals and their compounds ( causing their specific toxic effects ) and dusts ( causing pneumoconioses ).
Biological Hazards - due to various microbes contained insecretions, excretions, body parts of animals, soil, blood and other material ( causing anthrax, brucellosis, leptospirosis, tetanus, etc ).
Mechanical Hazards - due to exposure to heavy and complicated machines,( causing various accidents and injuries).
Radiation Hazards- such as ionizing radiations and UV rays ( causing leukaemias, other neoplasm and sterility).
Psychoemotional and social Hazards - such as poor interpersonal relationships and lack of emotional and social adaption to the work environment and lack of emotional and social adaptation to the work environment (which cause frustration, sickness absenteeism and reduced productivity ) .
What are occupational lung diseases?
Exposure to certain irritants repeatedly and over an extended period of time at work can cause a variety of lung disorders, some of which may persist even after the irritant has been removed from the environment. Some jobs are more susceptible to occupational lung illnesses than others due to the nature of their work environment, location, and task. The danger of occupational lung illnesses is not limited to coal miners, despite a common assumption. A person may be exposed to dangerous chemicals, dusts, and fibres when working in a vehicle garage or a textile mill, for instance, which might result in a lifetime of lung issues if they are not adequately identified and treated.
What are the symptoms of an occupational lung disease?
The most typical signs of lung illnesses, regardless of the source, are as follows. However, each person may experience symptoms in a unique way. Possible signs include:
Coughing
Respiration difficulty
Chest ache
Having a tight chest
Strange breathing pattern.
Occupational lung diseases are also called as 'pneumoconiosis' and occur due to inhalation of harmful particles of the size of 0.5-3 micrometre at the workplace, which causes damage to the alveoli. The important types of pneumoconiosis are as follows :
1) Silicosis - * It is caused by breathing air containing silica (SiO2), the most common is quartz.
* Important hazard in mining industries.
* Affects mainly upper zones of lung.
* Clinical features- shortness of breath, progressive decline in pulmonary function and chronic bronchitis, finally leading to cor-pulmonale.
* X-ray findings of snowstorm appearance , On CT scan - 'crazy paving appearance'.
2) Asbestosis - * It is encountered in industries concerned with the manufacture of Asbestos cement.
* following inhalation for prolonged periods (at least 10 years).
* asbestos fibres cause diffuse pulmonary fibrosis.
* clinical features- cough, pain in chest, and dyspnoea, finally leading to cor pulmonale, & there may be finger clubbing.
* mainly affects the lower zones of lung.
* "honey-combed appearance".
3) Anthracosis - * also called as "coal worker's pneumoconiosis' .
* usually occurs after 20-30 years in the occupation.
*Clinical features- progressively increasing breathlessness & emphysema , finally culminating in cor pulmonale.
* Obstructive lung function loss.
4) Byssinosis - * caused by dusts and fibres of cotton .
* Typical symptoms include, chest tightness, and breathlessness developing on first day of the working week (Monday chest tightness), over the seconf half of the shift.
5) Bagassosis - * caused by inhalation of sugarcane dust.
* causing bronchitis, and bronchopneumonia.
* Encountered in sugarcane, sugar, molasses, cardboard and paper industries.