Welders told to get vaccination

[beetlejac]

http://www.agg-net.com/news/welders-told-to-get-vaccination#.UA2LUuwPZIY.email

 

[chunkolini]

Interesting one.
It is a vaccination for pneumonia they are talking about.
I was struck down by this last christmas and completely wiped out for several weeks. Truly vile. 9 days in hospital on IV antibiotics, to whacked out even to feel bored or depressed.
Took me five months to get completely over it.
I was offered this vaccine afterwards and had a shot. it covers for 23 versions of the disease. The one i had was one of the nastier strains Pneumococcal pneumonia, it can do in your heart and brain.
Links with welding? not got a clue about that but I would not recomend it to anybody as an experience.

 

[MattF]

but I would not recomend it to anybody as an experience.

I'll second that. Got it a few years ago, and rarely does owt topside me, illness wise, but that thing did. Cleared up sharpish once I took the antibiotics though. I didn't have any after effects, fortunately. It was just the week or so before I went to the doctors, (I hate going to the doctors. I always seem to drop on the Irish bloke who seems to class the fact that you're still breathing as an inconvenience to him ), which made me suffer.

 

[Engineer1964]

Great idea, I'll see if i can get it done at my doctors surgery, I've printed out that article Just in case they try and make out i don't know what i'm talking about

Also found this chart which tells you which route to take towards getting vaccinated

http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Vaccine...mationforHealthProfessionals/File,3956,en.pdf

 

[Seano]

And its an absolute must have with me.....no brainer !

 

[Engineer1964]

Just found out on the NHS site,

•Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV): this is given to people aged 65 or over, and to people at high risk due to chronic health conditions.

No mention of welders or allied trades which could be at risk

I'll make an appointment with my GP later and see if i have to Pay

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Pneumo...s/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/What is it.aspx

 

[Engineer1964]

Interesting one.
It is a vaccination for pneumonia they are talking about.
I was struck down by this last christmas and completely wiped out for several weeks. Truly vile. 9 days in hospital on IV antibiotics, to whacked out even to feel bored or depressed.
Took me five months to get completely over it.
I was offered this vaccine afterwards and had a shot. it covers for 23 versions of the disease. The one i had was one of the nastier strains Pneumococcal pneumonia, it can do in your heart and brain.
Links with welding? not got a clue about that but I would not recomend it to anybody as an experience.

I remember what you went through Chunko and it wasn't nice, Glad you made it back to us, I think we should have some sort of Campaign on here to try and get as many welders Vacinated, and then if it saves a life, then its all been worth while.

 

[Robotstar5]

I've sent a link to our HSE chap. I had pneumonia about 4 years ago, Mrs Robo got worried when I near enough passed out with lips going blue! ended up in hospital for a week, don't want it again

 

[waltermorris]

Has there been any checks into the links with welding? I know America has done a lot of investigations into health risks with welding, including a slight increased risk with lung cancer, but like you say when you mention it to doctors they basically want full-on scientific proof first! Bit behind the times here I think.

 

[Engineer1964]

Has there been any checks into the links with welding? I know America has done a lot of investigations into health risks with welding, including a slight increased risk with lung cancer, but like you say when you mention it to doctors they basically want full-on scientific proof first! Bit behind the times here I think.

The HSE know about Metal Fume Fever as they have written quite a number of papers on it, Initally it gives you symtoms like the flu, but i guess over time and dependant on exposure it could lead to worse.

I didn't know about this untill i read it here, so i guess letting as many people know about it has got to be the way forward, i'm certainly going to the Dr's when i get a spare 5 mins

 

[mangocrazy]

Wouldn't this thread merit being made a sticky?

 

[chunkolini]

Does my head in.
I was massively messed up by this disease.
It was a bacterial infection. what is the connection to welding?
Nasty business whatever.
I can remember being so ill I wondered if I might croak and did not have the energy to feel bothered about that issue.
No bull.
Chunko'.

 

[Engineer1964]

Does my head in.
I was massively messed up by this disease.
It was a bacterial infection. what is the connection to welding?
Nasty business whatever.
I can remember being so ill I wondered if I might croak and did not have the energy to feel bothered about that issue.
No bull.
Chunko'.

Hi Chunko,

I guess with the fumes and chemicals it attacks your immune system and then the infection kicks in ?? Not sure but it would be a great campaign if we could get companies to Vacinate their welders as a preventive measure.

I mean looking at the same thing with asbestos, Companies where paying millions in compensation to workers exposed to asbestos, I can't see this being much different, if after so many years you get struck down and god forbid you don't make it. What are your family going to do when they say it may of been the welding fumes??

I will be getting in touch with the HSE tommorrow and see what their view is on this, It wouldn't break the bank if Companies vacinated their employees against this possibly fatel disease.

I still remember all what you went through Chunko, and what your wife posted too, so glad you made it ok mate

 

[hotrodder]

There's data here going back to the 1950's... http://iiac.independent.gov.uk/pdf/lobar-pneumonia-welders.pdf which reckons...

12. The mechanism by which metal fume might increase risk of lobar pneumonia is unknown, although it has been suggested that the fine inhalable fume may cause oxidative damage to lung defences; or that iron in the fume may act as a growth nutrient for micro-organisms in the flora of lung linings (normally an iron-restricting environment).8

and concluded that that's something that needs monitoring for now rather than action...

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Pneumococcal-Immunisation.htm includes welders at the end of 'other risk groups'

I might* have had pneumonia once but if welding was involved it wasn't the reason it got a 'proper' hold... as with pretty much everything that's gotten bad enough me to go and get prodded by a doctor it was being laid up following a physical injury that turned feeling run down into actually ill


* Still not actually sure... laided up with a smashed up ankle 'the snifles' turned into intense plural pain, GP was worried but unfortunatly sent me to a local hospital with a reputation for killing people with ingrown toenails. What followed was incompetence that a corpse would be ashamed of. I saw notes that had 'pneumonia?' written down and then they lost the X-rays & my bloodwork amongst the other **** ups. Good job that whatever it was responded to the first line antibiotics that they throw at everyone in the interests of time/playing the odds

 

[Engineer1964]

Great Stuff Hotrodder

I'm amazed that i've never seen or heard of this before and i've always been pretty geared up with Health & Safety

I wonder why the HSE havn't advertised this as much or made up some posters at least so that employers accept some of the responsability of the health of their workers

And this is what i'm talking about..

http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/5/325.abstract

Conclusions A good case exists that employers should offer PPV23 vaccination to welders and other employees exposed to metal fume.

I might start a petition On the downing Street Website, see if they will make it a responsability for employers to get their welders Vacinated, I can only try, do you think its a good idea??

 

[hotrodder]

I'm on the fence personally... the oxfordjournals link is estimating the odds at 1 in 588. In 'doctoring' terms that probably makes vaccination a good idea as much of their work is playing the odds (do the benefits of this drug outweigh it's toxic properties?). On the other hand fume is not healthy stuff to breathe full stop i.e. would you be happy to weld stainless/nickel alloys/cuni all day with little to no fume protection if you had a pneumonia vaccination? If you're protecting yourself against the 'nastier' components of welding fume then i would have thought the pneumonia odds would get into winning the lottery territory? I'm guessing (probably wrongly) that's why the HSE haven't published anything on it.

 

[Engineer1964]

With all things HSE, you have to outweight the risks and they say prevention is better than cure, I don't think people will be dumb enough to forgo extraction and general safety just because they've had the vacination, its only a 1st step in a line of procedures trying to save you from getting this disease.

I was interested seeing the part also where welders can get COPD, which is similar and i know of such a person that had this at work, and how he suffered right upto the day he went home early cos he couldn't breath, He was dead the next day, what a way to end a welding career

I wonder just how manay people are working out there with no proper ventilation or extraction, but are fearful of saying anything for fear of losing their job, or being singled out as a "Troublemaker"?

At least if companies offer their employees a vacination they are facing the facts that there is a health issue and its their responsability