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GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYEES HEALTH - AN

USEFUL TOOL FOR WORKPLACE HEALTHPROTECTION

Adriana Todea, MD Senior Occupational Health Physician -

Institute of Public Health Bucharest, Romania

I designed this guide having in mind the desire to build an

useful tool of communication, both for employer andemployee, with regard to the workplace health protection.

Health at the workplace, in Romania, has to be ascertained by

the employer as an important problem in all its aspects and

should not be perceived only as a mandatory isssue.Having in mind these considerations, these guidelines

constitute an invitation for debate between the employee, the

employer and the occupational health physician, so as toprevent illnesses, to create healthy and secure jobs and to

increase employees work performances.


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EMPLOYEES GUIDE FOR

HEALTH

What we need to know about the

periodical check up when

considering workplace exposure to

health hazards?


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Why is it important for you to know?

You will find qualified support provided by the physician who takes care of yourself when

you need this! But you are the first responsible for your own status of the health!

Finally, youll have to apply the physicians recommendations, but youll be the one to act in

order to change something in your behavior at the workplace.

You can learn how to prevent workplace injuries and occupational diseases, how to obtain the

maximum of satisfaction from the decisions you are taking together with your colleagues.

The aim of this guide is to support you to know more - in comparison with your colleagues

about health and safety at work when exposure to dangerous substances in the working

environment is involved.

We wish you to be aware about your role, as an employee, in protecting your health. Youll

find out that often, your own health and income, no matter if you are employer or employee is

in your hands and you can do a lot to keep them in a good shape.

This guide will help you to understand: What information the occupational health physician needs from you?

What kind of information you need about workplace and health hazards in order to

prevent work injuries and occupational diseases?

How can you collaborate with the occupational health physician in order to act

together for your own health?

How the physician could support you when you have questions referring to workplace

health issues and you cannot find answers for these questions or you have signs and

symptoms which you consider to be related to work?

If you dont understand some of the questions, advice or answers given by the occupational

medicine physician, do not restrain yourself to ask until everything its been clarified. Its

more useful to exactly understand what this is about, in order to clarify yourself and to

transmit useful information to your work colleagues. They will listen to you and your prestige

will increase becoming (why not?) yourself a good health adviser.

Speaking with your physician can be part of the process of taking decisions regarding your

well-being at the workplace because:

You are the only one which truly lives and knows what happens there, at the

workplace

You are the only one who will apply physicians advise and benefit of its utility


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Defend our health!

HOW?

Through the periodical check-up

What the periodical check-up means?

Is a complex medical consultation, performed while being

healthy, which has to be done by each employee on regular basis,

annually or even often, if the health risks involved by the

workplace are bigger

It is compulsory performed by an occupational health physician

It is foreseen as mandatory in the Romanian legislation, TheGeneral Norms for Labour Protection, 2002 Edition

This check up has a complex approach, its being correlated

with the working conditions, being specific to these conditions and

is composed of a package of medical services which differ from

one workplace to another according to the documented health risks.

For each noxious chemical it is performed a complex clinical

examination consisting of clinical examination and laboratory

investigations, specific for each exposure (according to the recordcards from the Chemical Agents Chapter, annex 7, from General

Norms for Labour Protection.


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WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PERIODICAL

CHECK-UPS?THE SPECIALIST IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH which has a postgraduate

training/specialization of 5 years in a Residency Program for Occupational

Medicine

The Specialist knows: If the exposure to chemical agents may influence your health in a negative

way;

If your health status allows you to work many years without getting anydisease.

If you can get an occupational disease because of the peculiarities of your

work and because of the working conditions.

Why do you need a periodical check-up whenyou are healthy and you are working?

All the employees, no matter where are they working, have to undergo, at least

on annually basis, a periodical check up. What is the importance of this check

up?

To prevent occupational diseases, work injuries but also the lack of

comfort during the working processes;

To discover on going illnesses e.g. professional poisoning when these are

in an early stage, can be easily treated and consequently your life could be

saved;

To contribute to the identification of the diseases caused by workplacerelated factors, named occupational diseases or, whichare related to the

working conditions named work related diseases;

The periodical check-up will help you towork better, you will

be healthier and earn more money while bringing benefits to

the company you work for!


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If you have headaches, if you make more mistakes than

usual,

You will loose time and money!

But the worst thing is that you could loose your job!

You are an employee:when should you go to visit thephysician?

YOU MUST GO FOR THE PERIODICAL CHECK UP!

Even if you are feeling healthy and you have no pain

When some signs appear at the workplace and you do not

know how to interpret them (headaches, prematuretiredness, lack of appetite, spots on the skin etc.):

-the headaches appear shortly after you have started the work,

when you are working with chemical volatile substances (as

organic solvents);

-you can hardly breathe and you feel a lack of air when you

enter in the working room where there are mineral dusts or

vegetal fibers;

-you noticed that your skin is red, or there appeared

modifications of the skin while you work with a toxic

substance;

-you feel tired and weak all the time, without being able to

pinpoint a specific reason, in such a way that you can not solve

the work tasks assigned, as you did before.


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It is cheaper to prevent than to treat!

When you go for a treatment it happens often that it is too

late!

You are the most important: as an employer, as an employee but also as the

support for your family. As an active person you have the following rights:

To receive good quality medical care. Only the occupational specialist

can provide this care. Is your right to discuss with the physician responsible

for the medical care;

You have the right to be treated with politeness, consideration and respect;

You have the right to the confidentiality of the diagnosis; is a right of allthe employees at international level. The consultation is confidential, no

information from your file should be communicated to other person without

your expressed consent;

You have the right to receive complete and up to date information; thephysician must explain to you all the tests youll go through, the risks you are

exposed to and the side effects of the drugs you take, in such a way to enable

YOU to decide about your health;

You have the right to ask questions whenever you do not understand

something. The physician has the obligation to respond to your questions inan user friendly language and must assure that you understood what was

explained to you;

You have the right to be informed how you could protect yourself against

the occupational diseases or how you can work in safety to prevent

occupationalaccidents.


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If youll loose your work capacity, youll loose not only money, but also the

quality of life!

If you help yourself, you will be helping your work colleagues!

Teach them how to have a healthy lifestyle!

You should be an example!

In order to achieve the objectives of the medical consultation, as an

employee you have also

RESPONSIBILITIES:

To answer to all the questions of the physician, concerning the health

problems you have, in an honest, correct and complete way. The physicianneeds these information to exactly assess which is the relation between these

ones and the conditions in which you are working in order to better advice

and proper treat the disease you have, or to see what should be done in order

to prevent other symptoms;

To express your thoughts clearly; the occupational health physician has toknow how you are working, what is bothering you, what habits (health risks)

do you have: smoking, alcohol drinking and lifestyle, if there are any drugs

that make you sick;

To ask the physician if you dont understand something;

To follow physicians advises, such as: to wear your working equipment

as well as the personalprotective one, to make sure that when you work the

ventilation system is on, to respect the labor protection regulations, to take

the drugs prescribed for you, to have time off etc;

To report the physician honestly if you didnt follow the medical advises

given during the periodical check ups;


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WHAT TO EXPECT?

The occupational health physician manages the periodical check

up

What does the physician need to know about you?

What you tell to the physician is very important because it helps him understand

what is going on with your health, and if the symptoms you are talking about are

related to your work.You must be ready to answer questions regarding:

your medical history: what diseases have you had, surgical

interventions, alimentary or drug induced allergies, etc.

the medical history of your family: what diseases did your parents,

brothers/sisters and grandparents have? what drugs are you on at the moment?

is there any drug that made/is making you sick?

do you have aliments or drug induced allergies?

your professional history: to remember all your workplaces, the

working conditions you worked in, if you had any work related accidents last

years, if you ever suffered a toxic chemical poisoning at your workplace, orany other occupational disease.

have you noticed any symptoms that appear while being at your

workplace?

Why is it important for the physician to know your medical past

(previous medical records):

These records will give him information regarding:

Your previous health problems: childhood diseases, surgical events,

chronicle diseases (diabetes, high blood pressure, liver diseases, anemia), if

you ever needed to get into an in-patient medical institution for treatment;

Previous medical examinations you did undergo (ECG, radiology, blood

tests); it would be helpful to have them with you when you go to thephysician;

Your lifestyle; you have to answer in an honest manner if you smoke,

drink alcohol, use drugs and how do you spend your spare time. Why do you

have to answer honestly? Because all these information are useful for the

physician to better evaluate your health status. Eventually is it you that

decides regarding your health, the physician only guides you;

Your period, pregnancy, number of abortions;

STDs (sexually transmitted diseases);


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A premature diagnose of a diseases during the periodical

check up, can save your life!

What is a medical check up?

The occupational health physician does a complete medical exam:

Skin, ganglions, lungs, heart, internal organs, sight, hearing;

Blood pressure, pulse, height and weight measurements;

Lab exams, depending on the general exams results;

All your answers will be registered in a MEDICAL FILE.

YOU HAVE TO KNOW:

The medical file is a judicial document describing in great detail your

health status;

It helps you: the medical file allows you to see how evolves your health

status in time, and to compare the present medical results with the past

ones;

The more detailed the medical file is, more useful is! It doesnt belong to

your physician or to your employer, it belongs only to you, it is personal

and confidential!


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Occupational disease (1)

What do you need to know?

What is an occupational disease?

The occupational diseases arediseasescaused by physical, chemical orbiological factors, linked to work processes, and leading to the exhaustion of

different organs and systems of the human body during work, regardless the type

of the employment contract. Occupational diseases include also the ones

suffered by students, pupils and apprentices during their practical activities and

by the employees in their trial period.

The occupational diseases that need to be declared, investigated and

registered are described in the second Annex of the General Norms for Labor

Protection, 2002 Edition; here are ascertained 73 diseases and the workingenvironment conditions that determine them.

What is a work related disease?

Beside the occupational diseases there are work related diseases, which

are caused by the working conditions as well as by other conditions not related

to work (for example the back pains can be determined by the strenuous effort at

the workplace as well as by the physical effort out of the working hours).For the evaluation of employees health status as well as for the

implementation of effective prevention measures is of paramount importance to

understand very well the occupational diseases and the work related diseases.


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You can save yours but also the health of your work

colleagues!

Occupational disease(2)What do you have to do?

If you are an employer, you have to take care of the health of youremployees, taking into account the general prevention principles:

Avoiding risks

Risks assessment;

Control risks at the source

Adapting the work by designing the workplaces, choosing the working

equipment and the work methods so as to reduce the monotony and to

establish predetermined working rhythms/patterns and to reduce their impact

on health; Adapting to the technical progress;

The replacement of the hazards with diminished ones;

Developing a coherent prevention policy taking into account new

technologies, work organization, working conditions, social relations and the

impact of the workplace environment factors;

According priority to the collective prevention measures ;

Proper instructions for the employees.

If you are an employee, you have to take care of yourself and of yourcolleagues by:

Respecting the labor protection regulations

Wearing personalprotective equipment

Doing periodical medical check ups

Adopting a healthy lifestyle


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IF YOU ARE AN EMPLOYER:

DONT FORGET!

The biggest reward is the health of the employees!

Investing for health is very important; it will increase the working capacity ofthe employees, and the profit of your company!

DONT FORGET!

Use the advises of the occupational medicine physicianThey will guide so as you to avoid material losses due to occupational accidents

and diseases

IF YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE

DONT FORGET!

Go to the periodical medicalcheck up! Give the physician all the informationhe/she needs! Dont forget, this information is valuable!

DONT FORGET!

You are handling chemical substances that you dont know how will affect your

body. Be informed and protect yourself! Keep in mind that many of these

substances affect your liver, kidney, blood and many of them cause cancer. If

you didnt know about it, asks your physician, he owes you an answer!

DONT FORGET!The exposure to biological agents, like hepatic viruses, can cause you

acute viral hepatitis type B, chronic hepatitis type B, hepatic cancer and

cirrhosis!

DONT FORGET!

The employer provides the personal protective equipment but is your duty to

wear it!

DONT FORGET!

Do you have any problems with your personal protective equipment? Inform

your employer! He/she has to protect you!


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Take care of your body!

What is a healthy diet?

It represents more than the fuel that gets you in motion, it is the building

material of your cells and the chemical elements that will regulate the processes

of your body. No single aliment provides you all that you need, and when youhandle toxic substances at your workplace it is important that you eat a variety

of aliments every day, such as:

Fruits and vegetables

Bread, cereals and other wheat products

Yoghurt, milk, cheese

Meat, eggs and proteins

Dont eat too much salt, sugar and fats. Eat lean meat. Dont forget that

alcoholic drinks dont have any nutritive value and they are bad for your health.

Try to maintain an ideal weight. You can improve your eating habits by chewing

slow and well. Prepare smaller portions. To maintain your weight it is necessary

to have physical activity, to eat lean meat, less sugar and to avoid the alcohol.

Is the alcohol bad for your health?The alcohol is a strong drug that may create dependence and affect your health.Drinking for a long time affects badly your liver, brain, nervous system and

heart. The alcohol decreases the level of the hormones in your body, reduces the

sexual ability for the men and for the women as well.The alcohol affects your capacity to take good decisions, to think and controlyour impulses. If you are a leader and you need to make decisions, drinking

alcohol can make you lose your job. If you work in an environment with toxic

substances such as solvents, the effects of the alcohol combined with the solvent

can cause poisoning with severe effects, and premature death.


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References

1.The Law for Labour Protection, no. 90/1996

2.General Norms for Labour Protection, Edition 2002

3.The Law no. 100/1998, regarding the public health assistance,

published in the Romanian Official Journal no.204/1 June 19984.The Ministry of Health Order no. 803 for approval of the

exposure indicators and/or biological effect which are relevant

for the specific body response to the risks factors for

occupational diseases, published in the Romanian Official

Journal no. 811/18 December 2001

5.The Law no.346/2002, regarding the insurance for occupational

accidents and diseases, published in the Romanian Official

Journal no.454 din 27 June 20026.The leaflet: The Guide for Womens Health. The Reproductive

Health Campaign.

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