How to protect your health
Protect yourself from heat
Strong heat can be dangerous for your health. You can suffer from heat stroke, collapse and become seriously ill. Therefore: protect yourself in good time from the heat. And: also pay attention to your colleagues.
This is how to protect yourself properly
- If possible, work in the shade or ensure that there is enough shade in your workplace (for example with a sunshade).
- Wear a hat or cap with neck protection
- Do heavy work in the morning or evening, not around lunchtime
- Spend your breaks in the shade
- Take short breaks more often
- Take drinking water with you for the whole day
- Always drink plenty of water from time to time
Are you not feeling well?
At high temperatures the body can only give off heat with difficulty and is at risk of overheating. Collapse and heat stroke may be the result.
Protect yourself from the sun
You work outside a lot and in the sun for a long time. The sun shines most from April to October. UV rays have an effect here. UV is the abbreviation for ultra-violet. UV rays are rays of light. Humans cannot see these rays. But they are dangerous for your skin. The skin can get skin cancer as a result. This is the reason why you have to protect yourself from too much sun while you work.
Spare your back
Lifting and carrying can cause injury or illness. In the worst case you can no longer work. How to keep your back fit.
Use aids and appliances to help you
Use hand carts, sack trolleys and wheelbarrows to transport heavy loads.
Lift loads correctly
This is how you lift a box correctly, for example:
- Stand as close as possible to the box.
- Place your legs wide apart
- Push your buttocks slightly backwards when you squat down
- Make sure your back remains straight
- Also make sure that your knees do not protrude beyond the tips of your toes.
- Hold the box as close to your body as possible
- Do not lift heavy things with a jerk or upswing.
Lift loads in such a way that your back feels okay
- Get into the step position when lifting the load. Your upper body remains straight.
- Distribute the load evenly on both sides. Use two buckets instead of one.
- Hold the load as close to your body as possible.
Protect yourself from ticks
Ticks can transmit dangerous diseases, for example borreliosis (Lyme disease) or inflammation of the brain (early summer meningitis). This applies in particular in the period from March to October. Ticks live in tall grass and bushes. They look for a soft patch of skin and then attach themselves firmly.
How you protect yourself
- Use a tick repellent from the pharmacy
- Wear tight and closed clothing
- Check your clothes and body for ticks after work
- Get a second person to help you
If you have a tick
- Remove the tick with tweezers or a tick card
- Disinfect the wound afterwards
- Mark the bite location and keep it under observation
- If there is any redness or swelling, consult a doctor immediately
- Inform your foreman or your boss. He will enter the incident in a first-aid log book. This is important in case a serious illness occurs later as a result of the tick bite.