Which occupations are considered the most dangerous to health? Answered by a doctor

general practitioner, ex-director of the Hillel Foundation in Saratov

Let’s find out how some professions can affect our health.

Many of you have probably heard at least once about Marie Sklodowska-Curie, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize. She worked with radioactive elements, and this determined her life: the cause of her death was a severe blood disease caused by prolonged exposure to radioactive radiation.

Now science has advanced and safety measures have been developed, but still work with radioactive elements is categorized as occupational hazardous. They are often related to the conditions or subject matter of our work, and these factors are not always obvious.

Miner

One of the diseases that affects people who work with quartz is pulmonary silicosis. It is characteristic of miners who have worked with silica for decades.

Fine sand likes to settle in the lymph nodes, and on the tomogram appears a characteristic symptom of “eggshell”. Over the years, this process can lead to fibrosis, an overgrowth of connective tissue with the appearance of scarring changes.

Builder

Another occupational lung disease is associated with construction workers who are at risk of exposure to asbestos (a fibrous material). Prolonged inflammation and scarring of the lungs (asbestosis) also develops over the years: symptoms appear after 20 or 30 years of work.

The danger of constant contact with asbestos is that it is an important risk factor for lung cancer and pleural cancer. For construction workers who smoke, the risk of developing the disease increases 65 times!

Stewardess

Frequent long flights are associated with thrombosis and varicose veins, one of the occupational diseases of flight attendants. Thrombosis is a condition in which a blood clot blocks the blood flow in a vessel.

This is caused by the low pressure on board the airplane, increasing blood density. Influences and the uniform of stewardesses: most often women walk in heeled shoes, because of which the load on the vessels is uneven and varicose veins develop.

Brewer

One of the occupational hazards of brewers is not alcoholism, but the fungal disease aspergillosis. Aspergillus fungi live everywhere: in the air, soil, on plants, human and animal skin. They are dangerous mainly in industries where contaminated raw materials are processed, such as breweries.

Aspergillosis complicates the course of allergies, rhinitis, bronchitis and other diseases of the respiratory system. And with long-term reduced immunity leads to inflammatory changes in the lungs and death of lung tissue.

Asphalt paver

As a result of prolonged work with a jackhammer, asphalt pavers develop vibration sickness. Exposure to intense vibration first leads to changes in the nerve plexuses of the hand vessels. Because of this, blood circulation in small and then large vessels suffers, and the blood coagulation system is disturbed.

At first, the hands are numb and freezing due to vasospasm, and with continued work there are severe pains in the hands, which grow into problems with pressure, headache and insomnia. After a long break, the soreness completely disappears.