Community Medicine Cheat Sheet
Work History Reveals Preventable Harm
Occupational health: occupational history WHACS, silicosis and byssinosis, noise-induced hearing loss, lead and OP poisoning and Factories Act for NEET-PG.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Work History Reveals Preventable Harm
Occupational health: occupational history WHACS, silicosis and byssinosis, noise-induced hearing loss, lead and OP poisoning and Factories Act for NEET-PG.
Occupational health links illness to work through a structured occupational history, covering dust diseases, chemical and physical hazards, agricultural exposures and Indian occupational health legislation.
High-yield lines
- An occupational history covers job title, exact task, exposure, duration, temporal relation to symptoms and whether co-workers are affected.
- The WHACS mnemonic prompts What job, How long, Agent, Co-workers affected and Symptom timing.
- The Factories Act 1948 lists notifiable occupational diseases in its Third Schedule.
- Silicosis is caused by inhalation of free silica dust and raises tuberculosis risk three to four times.
- Byssinosis in cotton-mill workers presents with Monday tightness that is worst on the first working day after a break.
- Noise-induced hearing loss is bilateral high-frequency sensorineural loss with a characteristic 4 kilohertz notch on the audiogram.
- Lead poisoning classically causes abdominal colic, constipation, anaemia with basophilic stippling, wrist drop and a Burton's line on the gums.
- Organophosphorus pesticide poisoning causes cholinergic features summarised by the SLUDGE pattern with miosis and fasciculations.
- Agriculture employs roughly 45 percent of the Indian workforce yet lies largely outside formal occupational health systems.
- Anthracosis or coal worker's pneumoconiosis results from coal dust inhalation.
- Asbestosis raises the risk of bronchogenic carcinoma and mesothelioma.
- The Employees State Insurance Act 1948 provides medical care and cash benefits for insured Indian workers.
- Pre-placement and periodic medical examinations form the backbone of occupational medical surveillance.
- Occupational disease control follows recognise, treat, identify exposure, protect co-workers, correct the workplace and link to compensation.
Mapped competency codes
- CM11.1
- CM11.2
- CM11.3
- CM11.4
- CM11.5
Continue into the full chapter
This summary maps to CM11-occupational-health.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the WHACS mnemonic cover in an occupational history?
What is your job, How long, what Agent, are Co-workers affected and Symptom timing relative to work.
How does byssinosis characteristically present?
With Monday tightness: chest tightness, wheeze and cough worst on the first working day after a break, improving through the week, in cotton-mill workers.
What are the classic features of lead poisoning?
Abdominal colic, constipation, anaemia with basophilic stippling, peripheral motor neuropathy causing wrist drop and a blue-black Burton's line on the gums.
Which law lists notifiable occupational diseases in India?
The Factories Act, 1948, lists notifiable occupational diseases in its Third Schedule.
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