Systemic illness occupational causes

Treatment of occupational illness may cause sensitization. With the use of botanical material for its pharmacologic properties, one may see patients who break out to plants in occupations where there should not be an opportunity for exposure. For example, reactions to Arnica montanUy Matricaria chamomillay Echinacea angustifoliay Hamamelis spp.. Calendula officinalis [434] and Melaleuca alternifolia are reported in alternative treatments . The latter is said to cross-react with colophony and contains eucalyptol, which caused systemic contact dermatitis in one patient [435, 436]. 

A hazard is a condition, set of circumstances, or inherent property that can cause injury, illness ( Occupational Health Safety Management Systems, 2012) (Appendix 1) (Managing Worker Safety and Health, n.d.). Elazards increase the probability that injury or harm will occur. 

Dermal exposure to chemicals is one of the leading causes of job-related illness as reported by the National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health. As jet fuel is the primary occupational exposure of military and aviation industry personnel, there is elevated concern regarding JP-8 dermal exposures in the workplace. Several anecdotal reports confirm that persons exposed to jet fuel experience itching or burning skin, skin redness or rash, skin dryness or dermatitis, skin lesions or weeping, or skin sensitization [32,33,34], yet little is known regarding possible systemic effects following dermal exposure. 

Category II - Critical. May cause severe injury, severe occupational illness, or major system damage. 

Category III - Marginal. May cause minor injury, minor occupational illness, or minor system damage. 

Organ-specific occupational toxidromes. A list of Ten Leading Causes of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses has been published by the National Institute tor Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This list, organized generally by organ system, is included in Table IV-2, along with additional disorders not on the original NIOSH list. 

Safety Freedom from those conditions that can cause death, injury, occupational illness, or damage to or loss of equipment or property. System A composite, at any level of complexity, of personnel, procedures, materials, tools, equipment, facilities, and software. The elements of this composite entity are used together in the intended operational or support environment to perform a given task or achieve a specific production, support, or mission requirement. 

The preceding discussion suggests that it is generally preferable from a harm prevention point of view to locate the causes of illness and injury within the system of work rather than in the characteristics and behaviour of those who suffer harm. This principle gives rise to the well-known hierarchy of controls for dealing with occupational hazards. One version of the hierarchy is as follows (Victorian OHSA, 1990) ... 

Risk is an estimate of the combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event or exposure(s), and the severity of injury or illness that may be caused by the event or exposures (Occupational Health and Safety Systems, 2012). Again, we expand this to include damage or any other type of loss. 

The common dictionary definition of safety is freedom from harm , i.e., freedom from those conditions that can cause death, injury, occupational illness or damage to or loss of property, or damage to the environment. But does such an absolute application exist in the real world where we accept, live with, or otherwise integrate hazards into our everyday lives It is probably safe to proclaim that there is no such thing as a safe system. 

The field of occupational medicine is composed of several different types of experts. The occupational physician is a doctor who specializes in occupational medicine. He or she is trained to identify and treat occupational illnesses and diseases. The industrial hygienist, whose job it is to inspect the health and safety of workplaces, is not typically a physician. Industrial hygienists are experts in the detection of chemicals or hazards in the workplace. They use a different set of tools and do not treat patients but rather search for the causes of occupational illnesses. Reflecting this division, occupational health textbooks are typically ordered by either hazard or organ system. 

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