DR. BRYAN CEPEDOZA MEDICAL INSIDER
A Question & Answer Session
with Dr. Bryan Cepedoza
on Occupational Hazards
(Part 6)
The Bohol Tribune (TBT): Dr. Bryan, you said last time that occupational injuries in the workplace are part of occupational hazards. And some of these common common injuries among workers are slips, trips and falls.
Dr. Bryan Cepedoza: Aside from slips, trips, and falls, we also have road traffic injuries, electric shock, explosions and fire. Road traffic injuries would include those that are met by ambulances, some crashes, motorbike and bicycle accidents.
The Bohol Tribune (TBT): Yes, I notice those, too.
Dr. Bryan Cepedoza: Other environmental health hazards are unsafe and insufficient water for drinking and washing, inadequate sanitation and hygiene, and hazardous healthcare waste and climate related risks. Why is unsafe drinking water a hazard? It is because it could be a link to the transmission of some diseases.
The Bohol Tribune (TBT): So what is your suggestion to people so that their drinking water will be safe?
Dr. Bryan Cepedoza: Boiling your water will kill harmful bacteria, parasites, and viruses from drinking water.
The Bohol Tribune (TBT): Is it true that we can also treat small volumes of drinking water by using a chemical disinfectant, such as unscented household chlorine bleach or by using a water filter?
Dr. Bryan Cepedoza: That can help. We have also to remember that contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. In fact, absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks
The Bohol Tribune (TBT): Water really plays an important role in the workplace.
Dr. Bryan Cepedoza: It does. There are harmful germs, parasites, and chemicals that can get in water from many sources, including human or animal waste, pesticides, and other chemicals..
The Bohol Tribune (TBT): I have also heard that dirty water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and polio
Dr. Bryan Cepedoza: That’s right. We really have to be careful with the water we drink. Let us look at the water container and see if the container has molds and if water has contamination with metals from corroded plumbing, such as lead and copper. All these could also be dangerous. Moreover, we have to teach people the safe use of water. Drowning can be caused by water and drowning happens every now and then. We have to be careful about this. And to think that there are cases of adult drowning. So this does not only happen to children. Drowning is a problem all over the world. (To be continued)