PEP, March 2005: Safety Spotlight. Occupational Diseases

Breaking a leg or getting a serious cut at work is an occupational injury. But what about the person who types all day and whose hands hurt or are numb? Or the painter who never had asthma but now wheezes? These are occupational diseases.

Injury results from a particular event that causes sudden damage. Occupational disease can come on suddenly or develop over time. Sudden disease usually results from brief heavy exposure to biological or chemical agents. Smaller exposures over longer periods cause chronic disease, which usually starts with a few symptoms and worsens with time.

Hard to diagnose
Symptoms of a disease are similar no matter what causes it. For example, occupational asthma from breathing harmful substances can cause a cough. So can infections, allergies or smoking.
Most doctors don’t know much about occupational disease. Medical schools teach little about it, and most doctors don’t even ask their patients what type of work they do! It is up to workers to tell their doctor that they think their work is making them sick.

Telltale signs
Sick workers often have to make their own connections between their job and their symptoms. One good clue is symptoms that get worse at work and improve away from work, such as during weekends or vacations. Being required to wear protective equipment is another indication. The law requires your employer to inform you about the hazardous substances or practices you are exposed to at work — such as dust, fumes, chemicals, loud noise, radiation, severe stress or repeated or strenuous motion — and their effects.

Getting help
Finding a doctor who specializes in occupational disease can make a big difference in how these illnesses are diagnosed and treated. In New York State, we have excellent access to occupational medicine through the Network of Occupational Health Clinics. Mount Sinai Hospital’s I.J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine is one of these. Offices are in Manhattan (212-241-9059), Queens (718-278-2736) and Yonkers (914-964-4737).

The DC 37 Safety Dept. (212-815-1685) encourages members to use the network and can assist with other listings.