The cold days of winter are mostly behind us, and warmer weather brings with it many different types of outdoor work. Working outdoors in the springtime can be enjoyable. Still, as summer draws near and heat and humidity levels rise, the risk of heat-related on the job illnesses and injuries increases.
The types of outdoor work available in Mississippi range from agriculture to construction, landscaping, paving, and so much more. If your work brings you outside into the summer heat, you are at risk for heat-related injuries and illnesses. Heat exposure causes more deaths per year than any other type of environmental exposure. Learning about heat-related illnesses and injuries can help you stay safe when the temperature rises in your outdoor workplace.
Heat-related illnesses occur when a person is exposed to high temperatures, and their body temperature rises faster than their body can accommodate through its natural cooling mechanisms like perspiration. If you are working in a hot place, watch out for nausea, dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps, or fainting, as these are signs of heat-related illness.
Heat exposure illness and heat exhaustion can progress into heat stroke if the body temperature rises above one hundred and three degrees. Severe headaches, confusion, dizziness, and a rapid pulse are signs of heatstroke. An individual who has heatstroke may even become unconscious. Heatstroke requires immediate medical attention, as brain damage, organ failure, and even death can result from having a body temperature of over one hundred and three degrees for a prolonged time.
Sun exposure can add sunburn and sun poisoning to the list of work-related illnesses and injuries that can happen to workers who work outdoors in hot weather. If you work outdoors in the heat, you must have access to shade, and your employer must provide you with opportunities to get out of the sun. Dehydration is also a common heat-related illness that can happen to individuals who work outdoors in hot weather. Dehydration happens when your body sweats out more water than it takes in. Fatigue, headaches, and lightheadedness are some of the symptoms of dehydration.
Fortunately, there are things that workers and employers can do to reduce the likelihood of a heat-related illness, injury, or heat stroke. Hydration is critical in hot weather, and employers must not only ensure that adequate water is available to their employees, but that workers are encouraged to take time to drink water throughout their workday. Some people may not be aware of how much more water people need when they are working outdoors on a hot day. For example, eight, eight-ounce glasses of water each day is enough to maintain proper hydration for most people hydrated most of the time. If you work outdoors in the heat, you’ll need to drink four, eight-ounce glasses of water every hour!
Workers who plan to be outdoors this summer can do so confidently, knowing that sticking to the recommendations for hydrating and spending time in the shade can prevent many cases of heat-related illness or injury. If you do start to feel sick while you are on the job, tell someone right away. Move to a shaded place or an air-conditioned area, drink water, and seek medical attention if your symptoms do not improve.
If you have been hurt at work, you and your family do not need to file a workplace injury claim alone. Call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (601) 790-1505 to learn more.
