It doesn’t really matter what you do and how much you love your work – destroying your health while working is something we all have to deal with. Even if you’re one of those patient people who pay close attention to everything they do, you can still hurt yourself and suffer from a number of occupational diseases. Of course, some of these are more complicated than the others, which is why you need to take better care of yourself and react as soon as you notice something might be wrong. So, what are some of the most common occupational diseases and what can you do about them?
Respiratory illnesses
If you work in a toxic environment or spend tons of time indoors, you might start having problems with your respiratory system sooner than you could’ve anticipated. This is something that happens to people of all ages, so we all need to worry about them. Whether it’s your lungs, your nose, your larynx, or your bronchi, these things could cause quite a lot of problems if you don’t deal with them straight away.
different occupational respiratory diseases – pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, asthma, and bronchitis, among others – which can harm your entire body and make you feel weak. That’s why you should try to prevent these conditions by wearing a protective mask, using a respirator that covers your nose and mouth, as well as ventilating your work area as often as possible.
Hearing loss
Most people think that hearing loss occurs only with people who work on construction, but this doesn’t always have to be the case. People who work in places that are loud or crowded can feel certain problems with their hearing over the course of time and experience more and more problems if they don’t react on time.
If you don’t want this to happen to you as well, you need to consider wearing protective earmuffs or at least those useful earbuds from the moment you arrive to work until you go home. You might also consider undergoing a hearing evaluation from time to time – talking to a doctor might show you just how bad your hearing is, and this could encourage you to take better care of it.
Accidents
Unfortunately, accidents can happen to anyone, no matter how careful you are. They’re more common with people who do certain jobs – construction, transportation, outdoor activities, etc. – but they’re not uncommon with others as well. That’s why you need to be careful all the time, or you might just get injured without even noticing it first.
Fortunately, lots of personal injuries are easy to deal with – most people get better quite soon and they can go back to their work in a matter of weeks. What they need to do as well, though, is think about getting some sort of compensation for their pain and stress. This is why talking to an experienced compensation lawyer might be a great idea, especially if the cause of your injury is your superior, your company, or another party that was involved.
Chemical poisoning
This is one of the worst situations in the world, and it’s particularly problematic for people who are in the chemical industry or the car industry. Being surrounded by dangerous materials and toxic chemicals all the time means you need to be extra careful not to let anything happen to you. Wearing protective equipment and following rules and regulations can sometimes be enough, but, unfortunately, not always.
The problem with chemical poisoning and burns are that these things can occur in a matter of seconds. This is why everyone working with these materials need to know what to do and how to act – learning things in advance and going through a proper training regime can save your health, and your life as well.
Back and neck pain
In the end, this is another common consequence of the modern age – back and neck pain is something that’s been bothering people for quite some time now, but it seems that these problems are reaching new heights in the 21st century. Whether you’re a teacher, an accountant, a tailor, or a DMV officer, you probably spend the biggest part of your day behind a desk, which means your neck and your back are suffering from a massive amount of pain.
Even though most people feel there’s nothing they can do to fix this problem, this is actually not true. You should start taking more breaks than before and walk for a few minutes. This will relax your lower back and ease your tension. Also, think about getting one of those ergonomic chairs that support your back and make you feel better than before.
These are just some of the most common occupational diseases you might be facing, so learn more about them and try to prevent them before they endanger your overall health.