Common diseases

IDevice Icon Hazards - Biological

Land based workers often suffer from disorders caused by plants. This is often an allergy to the biologial material, whihc may manifest as skill irritation, or lung malfunctioning. The most famous of these is caalled "farmers' lung" and is a gradually worsening condition caused originally by mould in wet hay.

Zoonoses are bacteria and other living organisms that can infect people. By its very nature you are a particular risk on farms and small holdings.

Common zoonoses include:
Escherichia coli (E.coli 0157) can be easily picked up from animals causing diarrhoea,
Leptosirosis (Weil's disease, and cattle associated Leptosporsis) both contracted from urine - rats or cattle,Cryptospordiosis causes abdominal pain from infected dung,
Salmonella causes diarrhoea, Ovine chlamydiosis causes abortion from handling aftewrbirth or soiled work clothes
Ringworm fungus causing crusty lesions on skin,
More from HSE Zoonoses


iDevice icon Hazards - Physical
Hazards

Noise accounts for deafness among a quarter of farm and holding workers. You may feel temporary deafness at the end of your working day, and this is a signal that if you continue to be exposed at these levels you may suffer permanent deafness. Such hearing damage is irreversible However, there is more to ear damage than hearing loss,including an annoying ringing in the ears called tinnitus. Sound is measured in decibels (dB - and adjusted for humans is called dBA). According to this scale doubles every 3 dBA. For more (pdf) This means that somebody working at 93db regularly is twice as likely to suffer deafness as working @ 90db.



iDevice icon Hazards - Chemical
The most common chemical hazards on farms are pesticides, but there are other such as fertilisers. The most likely hazard from pesticides is effects on the nervous system. Many organophosphates and carbamates cause nerves to fire more than they should. This results in headaches, stomach aches, or twitching hands. Pesticides can only be used if they have been approved for use (ACP). As part of the approval, conditions are laid down by law as to how they can be used and this is passed on to users through the label. The most dangerous time is when mixing pesticides prior to spraying.

And do you understand everything on the label - including: "Do not work if under medical advice not to work with cholinesterase inhibitors"?

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