Jobs That Could Be Damaging Your Health

If you have been contemplating a career change, the chances are you want to choose a job that is going to be good for you, good for your family, and great for work life balance. There are some jobs out there that offer longevity, and they're pretty recession proof because these are needed professions. However, most of these jobs can come under the umbrella of being dangerous.

There are some jobs out there that have the potential to damage your health. Choosing jobs that risk hearing damage or jobs that literally risk your life are still worthy jobs to have, however, you just have to know how to take care of yourself. Must also choose a job at a company where the company cares about the health of its workers. Once you do that, you can feel a lot more empowered to do well with the work that you choose. So let's take a look at some jobs that could be damaging to your health.

Chemical workers

People who work with chemicals are working with dangerous materials all the time. It's an occupational hazard, and if you're exposed to chemicals that could boost your risk of developing cancer from tobacco smoke and diesel engine exhaust topping the list of most common disease causing culprits. Even solar radiation is a problem. Logging and power line repairing are inherently dangerous, and they can rack up some high fatalities, but working with chemicals on the ground is just as risky.

Working in agriculture 

You wouldn't often think that farming is going to be a dangerous job, especially given that there are lower death rates in heart diseases and cancers. Problem with farming is that farmers are exposed to a range of hazardous chemicals that include pesticides, fertilizers and fungicides. There are also animal viruses and dust that they are exposed to regularly. So while the physical nature of the job can help to keep their hearts healthy, the chemical nature of the job is not as great.

Construction

Falling objects, large machinery, and the ability to be crushed on the job are all very common. Construction covers a range of roles and small fibers of asbestos build up in the lungs over time, which causes scarring and asbestosis is a big killer in construction workers. If you're working in construction, you need to be taking as many safety precautions as possible, and so should your employer.

Firefighting

We rely on firefighters to be able to look after us in times of need. However, if you are a firefighter and you are jumping into fires all of the time, then trauma and smoke inhalation can be serious threats. Firefighters are also seven times more likely to die of a heart attack compared to smoke inhalation because of a troubled ticker. It's important to realize that the physical and psychological stresses of the job are just as damaging as the whole jumping into fire aspect.

These roles are all hard hitting positions - are you working in them? How’s your health?