Is Your Asthma Work Related?

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  New York State Department of Health
• Description:
  Work-related asthma is more common than you think. Find out if your job could be affecting your asthma, and what you can do to control your asthma at work. Anyone can get Work-related Asthma. If you think you have work-related asthma, you don't have to leave your job. You can help your asthma by identifying and avoiding your workplace asthma triggers. What is work-related asthma? Asthma is a disease that makes it hard to breathe. Some people get asthma from the air at work. Some people have asthma that gets worse when they are at work. All of these people have work-related asthma. What causes work-related asthma? Triggers are things that start asthma attacks. Each person has different triggers. Some workplace triggers include: Chemicals in paints, cleaning products and other things; Dust (dander) from animals and insects; Dust from wood, latex gloves, flour and poorly cleaned buildings; Mold in damp or water-damaged parts of buildings. Who gets work-related asthma? Anyone can get work-related asthma including: Office workers; Construction workers, including welders; Hospital workers; Janitors and cleaners; Farmers, bakers and grain handlers; Beauty salon workers; Teachers. Talk to your doctor: Keep a daily record of your asthma attacks. Tell your doctor when your asthma gets better or worse. Tell your doctor about your current job and about other jobs you have had. Try to avoid your workplace triggers: Your doctor and employer can help you avoid your workplace triggers. This can include: Wearing a proper face mask; Moving to a different work area; Changing the air flow in your work area. How can you tell if you have work-related asthma? Ask yourself these questions: 1. Does your asthma get worse soon after starting work? 2. Did your asthma get worse soon after moving to a different work area? 3. Did your asthma begin after breathing something irritating at work? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, ask your doctor if you may have work-related asthma. This publication is also available in Spanish: https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2832.pdf. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Lung Disorders Occupational Asthma Respiratory Diseases Respiratory Irritants Worker Health
• Publisher:
  New York State Department of Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Lay Publications
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058791
• Citation:
  Albany, NY: New York State Department of Health, 2017 May; :1-2
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  New York State Department of Health/Health Research Incorporated
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Is your asthma work related?
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ed824567b04918b0fc299302b4013808842d379f0a91dcdcc57afcfe62d371ba1f9a875514e8d1adc3c0dd0c52e3ee8cc2b5647be3875c1a276f13e8ed46ca9e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223188/cdc_223188_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.93 MB ]