What is Occupational Health?

RE: What is Occupational Health?

Julian Earl — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 22:32:54 GMT

My German is non-esistentexcept counting to ten so I was just messing around.Hard for me to break the habit of a lifetime!

RE: What is Occupational Health?

Helen Humphreys — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 22:25:45 GMT

My German is patchy but that means "health" right? Add beruflich and there you have it

RE: What is Occupational Health?

Julian Earl — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 20:06:00 GMT

Gesundheit!!

RE: What is Occupational Health?

J G Wray — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 17:43:55 GMT

orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano.

Juvenal

Nothing new under the sun

RE: What is Occupational Health?

Clive Ansell — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 12:10:47 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]Yes, all the discussion so far has been on mental health. Physical health is also important, and poor physical health can certainly lead to depression in previously well-balanced individuals.[/quote]

I think generally, people are more aware of the benefits of physical health and mental health is often not discussed or overlooked. It is much easier to keep tabs on and look after diet, weight, exercise etc.

I have recently attended 2 medicals. They were both with a GP and were both very thorough in terms of physical health assessment and included fairly extensive blood work, urinalysis and a full clinical examination, one even included a cranial nerve and full ophthalmic exam. Yet, the only assessment of mental well being seemed to be "you must be fine, you've never been prescribed anti-depressants"

RE: What is Occupational Health?

Helen Humphreys — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 10:51:09 GMT

How right you are. I would suggest the 4 key areas are;

Physical hazards caused by animals (bites, scratches, kicks), medical equipment ( surgical lasers, x-ray equipment, sharps, autoclaves), or general work conditions (slippery floors, unsafe ladder use, driving to worksites).
Ergonomics-related hazards that include heavy or awkward lifting and awkward postures.
Chemical hazards due to exposure to disinfectants, anesthetic gases, hazardous drugs, insecticides, surgical smoke, latex gloves, and agricultural dust.
Disease-causing pathogens transmitted by needlesticks, animal bites or scratches, direct contact with contaminated items and waste, and inhalation.

I am pleased to say that at long last mental health is being talked about. This is possibly why there is a current focus due to the number of awareness initiatives presently. It is absolutely about both physical and mental health as you say.

RE: What is Occupational Health?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 10:21:51 GMT

Yes, all the discussion so far has been on mental health. Physical health is also important, and poor physical health can certainly lead to depression in previously well-balanced individuals. There was a time when brucellosis was a major cause of depression in the profession.

There are some hazards to physical health associated with our profession - ranging from those which can be minimised by management, such as radiation exposure, to those that can be more difficult to deal with. How many cattle veterinarians have found it difficult to politely refuse an offer of coffee when on a farm call - even though they know the herd has TB reactors? If the importation of improperly vaccinated pupies from eastern European countries continues, will rabies become an occupational health problem for us?

Wynne