Veterans play an important role in protecting nations. Therefore, their health is the main concern to ensure they effectively carry out their job. There are many health risks that could affect how they work. Identifying such health risks is key to ensuring veterans get the necessary medical care.
Physical Injuries
Veterans carry out challenging work, and this exposes their risk of being. These individuals are exposed to the risk of getting injured during the training process or when deployed to various work environments. Among the main injuries is being shot or being caught up in an explosion. Some of them get injured to the extent that they cannot work again in their lifetime. Regardless of how much they have been trained to avoid injuries, some injuries are unavoidable.
Asbestos exposure
Asbestos is the leading cause of lung-related health conditions such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. The average survival rate mesothelioma victims face is low because this cancer does not have a cure. Unfortunately, a lot of veterans are exposed to situations where they inhale the asbestos fibers, thus increasing their chances of developing mesothelioma. The reason why the survival rate is so low is that the symptoms can take 10 to 30 years to manifest. Some individuals tend to ignore the symptoms hoping that the condition would go away. For instance, when people experience chest pain, they might treat it using painkillers instead of being screened for serious health conditions. As a result, individuals realize they have mesothelioma when it is already late for doctors to manage the condition.
Burn pit smoke
The burn pit is used to burn various materials which could be toxic. In most cases, the smoke is toxic, and this endangers the veteran’s life. When inhaled, burn pit smoke can result in lung diseases. It can also affect the skin resulting in skin cancer. Given that veterans have to burn certain items being used in the bases, it is challenging to avoid the impact of such smoke on their bodies. Hence, they require regular medical care to ensure they are in good health.
Mental health issues
Throughout their line of work, veterans are exposed to different working conditions. Some of these working conditions could be traumatizing. An example is war zones, where many deaths are involved. Most of the veterans do not recover from the experience they have while in such areas. In the long run, they develop mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress. If not diagnosed, the mental health conditions could worsen to the extent that the veteran cannot care for their family. The chances are high that every veteran will be exposed to traumatizing work conditions at least once during their career.
Given the health concerns for veterans, it is important to educate their families on how to offer them enough support. They also require quality medical attention to prevent certain health conditions such as mesothelioma from getting severe. The veterans are also taught how to protect themselves from developing certain health conditions. These teachings are not always effective but reduce the number and frequency of those affected by the health conditions.