British Lung Foundation: Breathe Easy Week 14-20 June - Occupational asthma
Published: 09:06AM BST 17 Jun 2010
Needless to say, that if inhaled this can be extremely harmful to health and may often result in a diagnosis of occupational asthma if the person's lungs and breathing are affected.
Occupational asthma is an allergic reaction that a sufferer can have when exposed to a hazardous substance. It can be an incredibly debilitating condition which includes symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath and painful coughing as the airways narrow. Symptoms can present themselves immediately or they can begin later on in the day, making it difficult to make a link between hazardous tasks in a working environment and the disease.
Thankfully, there are regulations now in place to protect workers from being exposed to this kind of risk (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)).
In accordance with these regulations, employers are under a legal duty to protect their staff by carrying out risk assessments and taking measures to protect workers by altering their working practices, introducing machinery to undertake certain tasks where practical or by providing personal protective equipment. In certain circumstances, a simple dust mask may be all that is needed to prevent the disease occurring.
A disease such as occupational asthma can have devastating affects on people's lives as not only does it affect the sufferer, but we should remember that the lives of the family and friends of the sufferer will be forced to change to deal with the disease. This is where the BLF can provide their invaluable support.
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