10 job roles that may be affecting your lungs
Posted on: 12/Jun/2019 5:01:03 PM
A lot of researches are done to understand the impact of our profession in causing disease. The overall work hours, exposure to chemicals, risks involved, etc. are some of the factors that lead to lung disorders. Do you know that your overall wellbeing directly depends on your job nature? It can easily have its effects on lungs or heart or other body parts. This article specifically targets on how your job nature affects your lungs.
It is a fact that over 17 percent of lung disorders are caused due to work exposure. In cases of people with asthma or other lung-related ailments, the conditions worsen with work.
Let us take a look at a few of such jobs and its way of influencing lung health
Bartending and waitressing
In bartending and waitressing, workers get subjected to smoke which is directly harmful to your lungs. In addition, there is heavy use of cigarettes and a lot of other smoking-related equipment such as hookahs. These are main reasons that cause lung cancer.
Hairstyling industry
In the hairstyling industry, the workers are constantly subjected to chemical usage. Chemicals are mainly used for hair coloring, different kinds of hair styling, bleaching, etc. These chemicals are highly dangerous to our body organs such that it may even lead to asthma. There are various hair straightening products that have formaldehyde content in high percentage. This chemical often referred to as a carcinogen which means it is a cancer causing agent.
Housekeeping and cleaning
In housekeeping and cleaning services, there are various harsh chemicals being used. These supplies give rise to asthma-like disorders. These are mostly cleaners which are reactive in nature. They can directly have impact on your lungs. Such chemicals give rise to volatile organic compounds which will give rise to a range of chronic respiratory issues and allergies.
Construction industry
Those working in the construction industry are also subjected to constant exposure to harmful chemicals which leads to various lung disorders. They get exposed to asbestos and other kinds of microscopic particles which directly impacts our body and causes cancer or mesothelioma, or small cell lung cancers. Further, such chemicals may also give rise to lung scars which is called asbestosis.
Workers in manufacturing sector
Laymen and other workers in the manufacturing sector develop various lung related disorders. In case they are alreadydy affected by respiratory troubles, the conditions may get worse. As they get subjected to inhaling metals like silica, fine sand, etc., the workers are under the risk of getting diseases in the lungs like silicosis. In fact, such manufacturing sector workers tend to develop lung cancers.
Spray painting
Those involved in spray painting who work in auto body shops will be subjected to different kinds of chemicals such as isocyanates. This leads to asthma as they inhale a lot of polyurethane products. This leads to chest tightness and breathing difficulty.
So if you have any relatives or friends working in any of the aforementioned job roles, it is good that you advise them to take precautionary measures and necessary changes and efforts in their habits so as to stay protected from chronic conditions of lungs.
Medical practitioners
Almost all kinds of workers involved in the field of medicine like doctors and nurses and medical assistants who work in hospitals, dispensaries, medical offices, nursing homes, etc., tend to develop host of lung disorders. They mainly make use of gloves that use latex for manufacturing. This gives rise to lung disorders like asthma. There may be other worse conditions like tuberculosis, influenza, etc. which are a few other types of lung disorders commonly occurring in the healthcare industry people.
Coal mining
Miners working in coal mines may be under the risk of developing various lung diseases. This may lead to bronchitis or pneumoconiosis which is a chronic condition that results out of extensive and constant dust inhalation. Such dust particles tend to get stored in your lungs and eventually get hard and results in breathing difficulty. This will gradually lead to progressive massive fibrosis that may even be deadly.
Firefighting
In firefighting, people are constantly involved in a lot of different elements that may be dangerous to the lungs. There are chemicals and plastics getting burnt which the firefighters have to inhale, subjecting their lungs to threat. Nevertheless, with the use of self contained breathing apparatus, it will be helpful for them to bring down the overall risks involved in lung disorders. This aids in reducing the volume of harmful chemicals inhaled.
Farming
Those involved in farming tend to get involved with works in crops and animals. This naturally has a lot of risk factors associated in their job nature. Such workers get exposed to various contaminated grains and hay which may result in hypersensitivity pneumonitis where the air sacscs present lungs will get inflammated and starts developing scar tissues.
