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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Work-related breathing allergies
Harmful effects of TV, computers on your eyes
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Work-related breathing allergies Every individual spends about one-third or half of his/her adult life-time at the workplace. The regular exposure to the work environment, therefore, plays a significant role in the overall health status and wellbeing in one's life. Not infrequently, a number of work-related exposures may prove to be detrimental to one’s health, either individually or sometimes collectively. Work-related psychological stresses, musculo-skeletal strains, respiratory allergies and abdominal discomforts are some of the more common problems one faces. The respiratory system, in particular, is involved because one cannot avoid the air of the place of work. Breathing is obviously required at all times, and cannot be postponed. Occupational dust-related disases among minors and workers of several blue- collared jobs in factories and foundries have been well known for over two centuries. Diseases such as silicosis, anthracosis, asbestosis and others generally grouped as pneumoconiosis constituted an important cause for progressive respiratory diseases, disability and death. Stringent laws and other regulatory mechanisms adopted by different countries all over the world have helped to greatly reduce the risk and morbidity from these conditions. What are now more frequently recognised are the allergic respiratory problems related to a large number of work exposures. Many of these conditions are commonly dismissed as “chest infections”, asthma or bronchitis. From medical point of view, they belong to distinct groups which require specific management depending upon the underlying causes. Occupational asthma is one important allergic disease in this category. The disease, limited to the allergic individual, presents with other typical features of asthma which occur on exposure to the particular occupational agents such as the toluene dyes, rubber-foam, pharmaceutical products intermediates, laboratory chemicals, experimental animals and others. The asthmatic problem of such patients is best handled like asthma of any other patient with additional advice to avoid exposure to the offending agent. The other important groups of allergic problems which are apparently increasing in incidence are the hypersensitivity pneumonias. These pneumonias manifest differently with general symptoms of fever, fatigue, malaise, aches and pain which occur on exposure to the antigens that are widely prevalent. The symptoms are almost constant when the exposure is both prolonged and continued. They occur in almost all segments of the population engaged in different occupations, whether at work or at home. The “farmer's lung” is the most common cited example which occurs in agriculturalists in villages exposed to mouldy hay stocks. Even shopkeepers and commission agents in small town “mandis,” exposed to stored grains, are likely to develop the same problem. “Grain lung” may result from grain-weevil antigen. Similar hypersensitivity pneumonias occur in people working with mushroom growing (mushroom lung), cheese-processing (cheese workers’ lung) or compost manufacturing (compost lung) labourers. People constantly exposed to birds at home may suffer from bird-fancier lung, pigeon-breeder's disease and budgerigar fancier lung. “Ventilator lung” and “airconditioner lung” are two important allergic pneumonias commonly seen as an adverse outcome of modern life style. They occur on continued exposures to contaminated humidifiers, water coolers, heating systems and airconditioners. Contamination results from prolonged storage and lack of cleanliness. The problem is further compounded by living in closed and poorly ventilated rooms and flats. Examples of such breathing allergies are endless, and increasing with the introduction of new facilities, fashions and products. This is a life-style-related health problem of modern times. It is, however, important to understand the basic principle of these problems. They develop due to the continued exposure to the antigens which sensitise a particular person who is somehow predisposed (perhaps genetically). Once sensitised, he/she will develop the problem, when re-exposed. The best treatment for allergic problems lies in prevention. Most importantly, the antigen load must be reduced or avoided altogether. Storing conditions need sanitisation. Dampness should be avoided. Regular cleaning (for example of coolers, airconditioners, heating systems) is an important precondition. Numerous other steps and modifications may be required. It should be clearly understood that the environment has to somehow change to suit the health needs. Maintenance of a healthy work place is, perhaps, more important than the work for a better output and wellness. The writer is Professor and Head, Department of
Pulmonary Medicine, PGI, Chandigarh.
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Harmful effects of TV, computers on your eyes Do your eyes feel tired or you experience eye twitching after hours of playing video games? Do you get eyestrain or hazy vision as you spend your day staring at your computer while on professional duty? Do you get headaches, fatigue or have the feeling of not being well while spending your days and evenings before your television set to kill your time after retirement? Also, eye fatigue and dry eyes are serious problems for millions of housewives who spend several hours in front of a computer/ TV every day. Aside from the physical discomfort --- burning or tired eyes, double or blurred vision, eye twitching, headaches, loss of focus, neck and shoulder pains, it can have a lasting effect on your vision. We regularly tell our patients to “periodically get up from the chair, walk around the desk, and look off way into the distance. That brief little walk for just a minute or two, that break, will increase your tenacity and endurance at the computer.” Pain on the face, ears and eyes due to excessive and obsessive mobile phone usage can occur to many youngsters --- don’t ignore them. The steps to reduce computer/ TV eyestrain 1. Computer users should have an eye examination done by an eye-specialist before they start working on a computer and six monthly thereafter. 2. Avoid excessively bright light either from outdoor sunlight coming in through a window or from harsh interior lighting. Eliminate exterior light by closing drapes, shades or blinds. 3. Consider installing an anti-glare screen on your monitor. If you wear glasses, purchase lenses with anti-reflective (AR) coating. 4. Replace your old monitor with a flat-panel with a relatively large display (LCD) like those on laptop computers. Similarly, a big screen LCD TV is better. 5. Adjust the display settings on your computer/ TV so that the brightness of the screen is about the same as your work environment. It should not look like a light source or too dark. Ideally, the text size should be three times the smallest text size you can read. Black text on a white background is recommended. 6. Frequent blinking is very important when working at a computer; it rewets your eyes to prevent dryness and irritation. Every 10 minutes, blink 10 times. 7. Look at a 20-meter distant object at least every 20 minutes and gaze at it for at least 20 seconds. Some eye doctors call this the "20-20-20 rule." It relaxes the focusing muscle inside the eye to reduce fatigue. 8. To reduce your risk of neck, back and shoulder pain, take frequent breaks during your computer work --- five-minute "mini-breaks" several times a day. During the breaks, stand up, move about and stretch your arms, legs, back, neck and shoulders. 9. Place written pages on a copy stand adjacent to the monitor if you have to consult the same frequently. Light the copy stand properly. Position your computer screen 20 to 24 inches from your eyes. The centre of your screen should be about 10 to 15 degrees below your eyes. 10. Consider proper computer eyewear: Get your eyeglasses prescription to create customised computer glasses. Mobile mania and eyes
Most modern youth are glued to the mobile phones. The eyes are particularly vulnerable to heating effects from electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted by mobile phones and other gadgets. Cornea having fewer vessels than other tissues is more vulnerable to heat. EMR may cause cataracts through damage caused by the heating effect. Cerebral spinal fluid around the brain can absorb more radiation at the surface of the brain and affect eyes. Children under six years of age may face difficulty training their brains to focus their eyes after too much strain caused by the 3-D viewing/ gaming on the mobile. They might not go blind, but they might not develop properly either. Don’t panic. Use your mobile sparingly. The writer, a Chandigarh-based senior eye-specialist, is the author of many medical books. Email: drrkumar16@gmail.com
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Health Notes London: Babies born to women who eat a poor diet during pregnancy are more likely to suffer prematurely from chronic age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, say scientists. Poor nutrition in the womb has for the first time been linked with increased susceptibility to premature ageing by a mechanism that involves physical changes to genes related to metabolism. The study, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the British Heart Foundation, is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. — The Independent
Rise in lung cancer among Brit women over 60
London: A survey has found that lung cancer is on the rise among British women aged over 60, and that smoking is to be blamed for it. The new figures, released ahead of No-Smoking Day, showed that between 1975 and 2008, the numbers diagnosed with the disease jumped from almost 5,700 to more than 15,100. For women aged over 80 the number of cases leaped from 800 in 1975 to more than 4,700 in 2008. "Around nine in 10 cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking and one in five people still smoke," the Daily Express quoted Jean King, director of tobacco control at Cancer Research UK, as saying. "So it's vital that work continues to support smokers to quit and protect young people from being recruited into an addiction that kills half of all long-term smokers," King added. — ANI
Gene discovery could shed light on foetal growth retardation
Washington: A new discovery by University of Montreal researchers could improve our understanding of many disorders such as foetal and childhood growth retardation, abnormal development of body parts and cancer. By working with Canadians of French ancestry who suffer a rare genetic disease, researchers have discovered how three genes contribute to abnormal growth. “As a result of the Human Genome Project, we know the basic identity of essentially all the genes in the human body, but we don’t automatically know what they do in detail,” explained lead researcher Dr. Mark Samuels. “Working with people who have specific health or development problems linked to specific genes enables us to see how those genes contribute to our bodies’ development and functioning.” — ANI
Kidney transplant recipients should exercise to live longer
Washington: Kidney transplant patients with low physical activity are more likely to die early, suggests a new study. The results suggested that patients needed to exercise to fend off an early death. Dorien Zelle (University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands) and her colleagues studied the health of 540 kidney transplant recipients between 2001 and 2003, assessing physical activity through questionnaires and recording deaths until August 2007. With regard to the guidelines for minimum requirements of physical activity, 260 (48percent) patients did not meet the criteria and 79 (14.6 percent) were completely inactive. During the study period, 81 patients died, with 37 heart-related deaths; the lower the level of physical activity, the higher the rate of deaths. — ANI
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Every individual spends about one-third or half of his/her adult life-time at the workplace. The regular exposure to the work environment, therefore, plays a significant role in the overall health status and wellbeing in one's life. Not infrequently, a number of work-related exposures may prove to be detrimental to one’s health, either individually or sometimes collectively. Work-related psychological stresses, musculo-skeletal strains, respiratory allergies and abdominal discomforts are some of the more common problems one faces.
Do your eyes feel tired or you experience eye twitching after hours of playing video games? Do you get eyestrain or hazy vision as you spend your day staring at your computer while on professional duty? Do you get headaches, fatigue or have the feeling of not being well while spending your days and evenings before your television set to kill your time after retirement? Also, eye fatigue and dry eyes are serious problems for millions of housewives who spend several hours in front of a computer/ TV every day.
