Blog # 3

EnviRN Evidence

Toxicology

• Does your new knowledge regarding toxicology have you thinking about what questions you might want to ask your patients regarding their potential exposures in their homes, schools, and workplaces? 
• Will this change or add to your practice?

1. Do you know what toxins are? Please explain it.
2. Do you expose to any type of hazards or toxins?
3. Do you suffer from any symptoms after exposure to toxins? If yes, What type of symptoms?
4. How did you prevent not to be exposed to toxins?
5. What treatments did you follow up?

This assignment provoked me to include these questions in my nursing practice.

Fracking

• Is there any gas or oil activity in your community? How about refineries or pipelines for gas/oil? 

My country- Iran is one of the most hydrocarbon-rich areas in the world. Since the nation's first oil well in 1908, 145 hydrocarbon fields and 297 oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered. National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) was established on 8 March 1991 and undertook to perform all operations relating to refining and distribution of oil products.

Lead

• Do you feel comfortable educating patients about lead-based paint poisoning prevention? How about what to do if there are elevated lead levels in your community's water? Have you done any work on lead poisoning in the past? 
• Where is lead a problem in your community (water, soil, paint)? 

I am able to educate patients since I learned more about lead-based paint and its hazards. 

Lead inspection and lead risk assessment are useful first steps which can lead to more thoughtful decisions on managing lead paint and lead hazards. The best solution is to maintain pipes in old homes or cities.

I have not done any research or work on lead poisoning. However, it could be very interesting to do it especially that now I know that I can do it by myself in proper technique.

A high rate of houses in San Francisco are old. Thus, the concerns of lead-based water, soil, and paint are existing if the houses have not been maintained.

Asthma

• Were you aware of the risks of adult onset asthma as a nurse? 
• Have you known any nurses who developed asthma? 
• What are some of the obvious potential triggers to asthma in your workplace? How could you eliminate or reduce these exposures?

I have noticed some health care providers like nurses have allergy to latex gloves, cleaning products and anesthesia gases existing in OR environment. They had shortness of breath, skin rashes, itching, and edema in extremities and face.

I have not seen or known any nurse with adult onset asthma.

The most available triggers to asthma in my workplace are latex gloves, cleaning products, and fragrance devices. To eliminate the hazards, we could request latex-free gloves for the unit, educate nurses who has asthma to avoid staying in any area cleaned by chemical products. Participate in green team or purchase committee of the hospital and discuss about buying safe products to prevent hazards.

Perchlorethylene

• Are there any dry cleaners near you that use perc? Did you know that there are non-toxic alternatives to perc? The process is sometimes called "wet cleaning".

Yes, laundromats near my home commonly use perchloroethylene.

Yes, I did. Wet cleaning is essentially professional cleaning that avoids the use of chemical solvents. Compared to dry cleaning, they are more environmentally friendly. Wet cleaning offers a safer, equally effective method of cleaning clothing that requires special care and attention.