Even from childhood, men suffer more illness, more accidents and die earlier than females.  Men’s Health Week is the perfect time to STOP and think about those factors in a man’s environment that may impact their health and wellbeing.

Men's Health Week promotes the health and wellbeing of men and has a direct focus on the health impacts of men's environments.  It serves to ask two questions:

• What factors in men's environments contribute to male health issues?
• How can we turn that around and create positive environments in men's lives?

Lifestyle factors, including working life, can have an impact on health and wellbeing. Men are more likely than women to be exposed to occupational health hazards, which can lead to illnesses such as heart and respiratory disease.

This is a timely reminder for men to be aware of hazards in the workplace. For example, if workers use spray paints, powder coatings, two-part poly-urethane paints or foam insulation, there is a very real risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals or by-products entering the body, such as isocyanates.

If your employees are working in an environment where they’re exposed to potential occupational hazards, a health surveillance program, which includes baseline and periodic monitoring, can assist in determining their exposure to risk and help with the early identification and remediation of these.

Biological monitoring includes urine and blood sampling to determine the levels of chemicals or their break-down products in an exposed person’s body tissue or fluids.

For more information, visit the Men’s Health Week website http://www.menshealthweek.org.au or contact Occuhealth on +61 8 9537 5700.