Taking Care of Employees is a Good Business Practice
Managing your company is sometimes complicated. However, no matter how you look at it your employees are the most important aspect of your business. If they have issues – you have issues; if they have personal problems – they become your personal problems.
Distracted employees are hindered from performing at their best. They also may not be able to work at all. When your employees are not working or working just “so-so,” you, the employer, lose productivity and profits.
No matter if you are a small business with few employees or a full-blown corporation with hundreds of workers, keeping your workforce healthy and productive is not only a wise business practice, but it promotes positive reinforcement communicating to your employees their company’s interest in their welfare and wellness.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
There are many ways to establish and maintain an EAP in your company. Unless you are a large company with hundreds or more employees, the cost of operating in-house services may require additional licensing because a Knox-Keene license is required in some states. By referring employees to outside services, it is possible to be exempt from licensure. This technique is called the “assess and refer model.”
Another exception to the Knox-Keene license is employee services dealing with financial or legal concerns, work relationship issues, and other non-medical or psychological issues. Referral services can be directed to outside non-profit sources that offer help, such as counseling, and other related services. In companies providing health coverage, EAP services can set up appointments with their network providers to help the employee.
EAP can still be utilized, and very inexpensively, by smaller companies with few employees. Using some creative research your HR personnel can easily locate and use local, county and state social services to provide services for your employees, but you should consider adding limited coverage to provide EAP services for your employees. This would super charge your workers' comp, and substantially help you reduce your costs.
Employees suffering from depression, substance abuse, or other personal issues are hazards to company productively, are prone to on-the-job accidents and injuries, and can actually cost a company money. By setting up EAP services for your employees, you create proactive care that will ensure your employees welfare, health and while doing so maintaining workforce productivity, and reducing turnovers, and absenteeism. (workersxzcompxzkit)
From a business perspective, EAP services just make good sense. They are not only a valuable tool to maintain a healthy workforce, but when you help an employee with work/life issues diluting focus on the job, you turn a distracted employee back into a motivated and productive one. This makes EAP service programs a win-win situation for the workforce and the company!
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers' Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Podcast/Webcast: Claim Handling Strategies
Click Here:
http://www.workerscompkit.com/gallagher/podcast/ Claim_Handling_Strategies/index.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers' comp issues.
©2010 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Healthy Employees Are Productive Employees
With growing uncertainty on how health care reform will impact workers’ compensation, many employers are looking for answers to questions not yet realities. Business owners are looking at the high cost of maintaining workers’ comp coverage and thinking about how to reduce those costs. The best place to start is with the workforce.
The premise of healthy employees being productive employees has long been substantiated by numerous published studies. In recent years many employers see how this aspect of management actually makes a dramatic impact in employee productivity, with substantial savings for companies who also provide some level of health coverage to their employees.
You may think of it as taking a proactive stance on protecting company interests, but by actually placing the emphasis on protecting employee wellness, the needs of company interests take care of themselves.
There are quite a number of ways to approach and implement effective wellness programs, from companywide programs to individual or group activities helping to promote healthy lifestyles. Making your employees part of the process also conveys the message that the company they work for has a genuine concern for their well being.
Achieving positive results takes careful planning, creativity, and moderate assimilation into the workforce. The idea is to encourage employees by making them part of the process in choosing activities and programs. Some creative ideas could include starting a company softball or football team with an eye toward joining local league play. Family nature walks, or bicycling trips to a local park or seminars to help those wanting to stop smoking and/or lose weight all foster employee/family involvement.
Whatever direction an employer takes, the main idea is to project the message: The company has a genuine concern in the well being and wellness of its workforce, and then prove it! Actions speak louder than words, and nothing has a greater positive impact as seeking input and help directly from your employees.
A great way to see what your employee’s needs and thoughts are in developing and implementing your wellness program is to create an anonymous questionnaire. Make it simple, and general in scope, and be sure to include the company’s mission and purpose. Be honest, sincere and direct – three principles going a long way in bringing new ideas and plans into the workforce, especially if these ideas come from and directly affect your employees.
No matter what type of business you are engaged in, employees generally take notice of new changes to their work environment quickly, and water cooler gossip is sure to happen. In companies that previously had little or no employee wellness policy or programs, this new addition to your company is sure to stir some excitement and interest, especially if you reinforce and encourage participation and support in the decision process, management, and implementation. (workersxzcompxzkit)
In companies with existing or similar programs find new additions to employee wellness. Updating a current program gives your employees direct evidence of the company continued position and interest in the welfare and health of their workforce. The employer can still use an anonymous questionnaire, only slant it toward “what additional things can we, the employer, do for you, the employee, to make your workplace better and safer.”
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers' Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Podcast/Webcast: Claim Handling Strategies
Click Here:
http://www.workerscompkit.com/gallagher/podcast/ Claim_Handling_Strategies/index.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers' comp issues.
©2010 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Migraine headaches are very common and can lead to injuries at work. Before puberty, boys have them more often than girls but after puberty the women catch up and pass, affecting 18% of woman and 6% of men. Many migraine suffers are unaware their headaches are migraine, and many never seek medical treatment. People may have more than one kind of headache, so it is important to sort out which symptoms are associated with which kind of headache. They are so common, your wellness program should incorporate migraine information.
Common misconceptions about migraine include:
1. The idea that all migraine headaches are associated with visual disturbances, called an aura.
2. The belief that only headaches lasting several days and forcing the sufferer to remain in a dark, quiet room are migraines.
3. The idea that migraines are like tension headaches, just a little more severe.
Criteria for diagnosing migraine without aura. A. At least five lifetime headaches lasting between 4 and 72 hours without treatment or between 3 and 72 hours if always treated. B. Any two of the following:
1. Moderate to severe intensity (Moderate intensity interferes with normal activity and limits efficiency, severe intensity prohibits normal activity.)
2. One-sided (Pain is limited to or notably worse on one side.)
3. Aggravated by activity such as climbing stairs.
4. Pounding, pulsating, or throbbing characteristic more than rarely.
C. At least one of the following:
1. Nausea or vomiting more than rarely
2. Both
a. Sensitivity to light (Photophobia) and. b. Sensitivity to sound (Phonophobia).
D. At least one of the following:
1. History, physical, and neurological examination suggest no organic disorder;
2. One or more of the following history, physical, or neurological examination suggest an organic disorder that is later ruled out;
3. Organic disorder is present, but migraine attack doesn't occur for the first time in close temporal relation to the disorder.
If you have an aura, criteria for diagnosing migraine with aura are:
A. At least 2 attacks fulfilling criteria B through D, below. B. Aura consisting of at least one of the following, but no motor weakness:
1. Fully reversible visual symptoms including positive features (e.g., flickering lights, spots or lines) and/or negative features (e.g., loss of vision)
2. Fully reversible sensory symptoms including positive features (e.g., pins and needles) and/or negative features (e.g., numbness)
3. Fully reversible dysphasic speech disturbance
C. At least two of the following:
1. Homonymous visual symptoms and/or unilateral sensory symptoms
2. At least one aura symptom develops gradually over 5 minutes and/or different aura symptoms occur in succession over 5 minutes
3. Each symptom lasts more than 5 and less than 60 minutes
D. Headache fulfilling criteria B through D (above) Migraine without aura begins during the aura or follows aura within 60 minutes E. Not attributed to another disorder.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH, FACOEM is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
Weight Control: Manageable Ideas Problems associated with overweight workers often cause injuries to be prolonged and workers' comp claims to be more expense. As part of your workers' comp management program, consider integrating a wellness program. Here are a few easy-to-integrate ideas from Dr. Sandy Leffingwell.
1. A book titled The Way To Eat: A Six-Step Path to Lifelong Weight Control, By David Katz, M.D. and Maura Gonzales (see footnote 1), a nutritionist, is excellent. The authors are not into fad diets, but have put together a collection of simple ways of changing what you eat to achieve a healthier diet. The authors are aware weird diets are not sustainable and heroic diets while taking weight off, don't keep it off. They know a diet leaving you hungry will not last. They understand people with weight problems are rarely the gluttons most thin people imagine them to be. They explain how tastes are formed (indeed, how the tendency to like the same things is an innate survival instinct) and suggest ways in which tastes can change to adapt to a healthier life style. One example is whole milk vs. skim milk. Many people accustomed to whole milk find skim (workersxzcompxzkit) milk watery, blue and generally disgusting. The authors' standard proposition is: "Grit your teeth for one month and use nothing but skim milk. At the end of the month, drink exactly one glass of whole milk, and see how you like it." Almost without exception, people find it unpleasantly thick and greasy, preferring the skim milk they have newly grown accustomed to.
2. Restaurants stay in business by making their customers feel happy when they are at the restaurant and as they leave. If you walk out the door happy, you will come back even if, fifteen minutes after you leave, you feel bloated and say "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." They regularly serve oversize portions, even without your requesting "supersize me." A steak dinner with mashed potatoes and a side of fried onion may have enough calories to sustain a mountain climber for two days – not joking. If you must eat out often, learn to look for inherently low-calorie foods and even ask for a half or two-thirds sized portion. You may pay for a regular serving but remember, if you eat more than you need, it is worse than waste (It's waist?) Another technique is before starting your meal, request an extra plate and remove a portion to take home. If necessary, emphasize to the server the tip depends in part on seeing to the smaller portion.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH, FACOEM is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
Weight Control: Manageable Ideas
1. Give yourself time to adjust to new foods. A preference for familiar foods is a positive survival characteristic; if the red berries didn’t make you sick last week, they probably won’t make you sick this week; but if you’ve never tried the blue berries, you want to be careful. If you try the blue berries a few times without getting sick, you may come to like them.
2. Remember your mother telling you “Don’t eat before dinner. It will spoil your appetite?” If you are very hungry at dinnertime, a light snack in late afternoon may do just that for you and make it easier to eat less at mealtime.
3. One pound is about 3,000 calories. That is, if you take in 3,000 more calories than you burn, you will gain a pound; if you burn 3,000 calories more than you take in, you will lose a pound. Dutch pretzels have about 100 calories. Eat one a day more (workersxzcompxzkit) than calories burned and gain a pound a month; 12 pounds a year; 60 pounds in five years. Try to cut down on the high-calorie foods first, but don’t overlook the little things.
4. Although it is difficult to exercise enough to lose weight without controlling diet, some exercise can add up over time. If you are at a stable weight using diet, increasing exercise by 100 calories per day will yield 10 to 12 pounds per year loss.
5. Keeping a diary of what you eat for about a week is often helpful. Make an entry each time you eat anything — even one peanut. Write down: (1) the date and time, (2) what and about how much you ate. (It doesn’t have to be precise, a rough statement is adequate.) (3) how you felt at the time, (4) what you were doing since the last entry.
a. The time helps us figure out if there are patterns to hunger. Sometimes, for example, a light snack an hour or two before a meal quells hunger so you can eat less at mealtime and still feel comfortable.
b. What and how much helps us (1) to spot foods higher in calories than you realize and alert you to the danger and (2) to assess the overall caloric intake.
c. How you felt at the time gives clues to the reasons for eating. A person who reports waking up frequently at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. with a gnawing hunger relieved by a bowl of ice cream may have an ulcer. Treating the ulcer makes better sense than fussing about the ice cream. A person who reports feeling intense hunger, to the point of shakiness, about 11:00 a.m. or 4:00 p.m. may be experiencing reactive hypoglycemia. That can be managed without increasing caloric intake, but you need to know that’s the problem. A person who reports, “I had a standing rib roast. I wasn’t really hungry, but everybody in the group was eating the same thing,” needs better friends.
d. What you were doing since the last entry helps figure out how fast you are burning calories. As said above, it is harder to control weight effectively by increasing exercise than by limiting intake, but exercise is important to health in other ways and can help if you are also working on intake.
If you keep this type of diary, it may be best for the first week to simply record without allowing the recording to change what you do. A patient several years ago agreed to keep such a diary and she came back several weeks later 15 pounds lighter. She said she would start to eat something, then think “If I eat this, I’m going to have to write it down,” and refrained. One can’t quarrel with how it worked for her, but it can also be useful to know what the baseline is.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH, FACOEM is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at
ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
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Migraine Headache in The Workplace
Employers need to be aware of several important aspects of migraine headache.
1. It is a very common affliction.
2. It is not the same as the tension-type headaches most people experience at some time.
3. Accurate diagnosis and proper treatment will help many, though not all, employees get through acute attacks without lost time.
4. Medicines designed t o interrupt the onset of a migraine typically take at least 45 minutes to act. In the interim, noise and light may worsen the headache, so a quiet dimly lighted place is helpful in recovery and return to duty.
5. An employer who reasonably accommodate these needs, may find a more loyal, productive employee.
Anatomy of Migraine Headache, not a problem with blood vessels as we used to think. An area usually toward the back of the brain, begins using sugar and oxygen slower than the normal rate. This reduced brain activity gradually spreads over the whole brain, taking about 24 hours to reach its maximum. The headache begins about the time the whole brain is involved. Some changes in the rate of oxygen use persist for as long as seven days after the headache. Some migraine suffers notice a sore feeling in the part of their head affected by the migraine for a day or two after the headache, and many complain of a mental fog or loss of (workersxzcompxzkit) sharpness for a while after the headache. Once the headache starts, there is an interplay with chemicals, transmitting nerve impulses causing inflammation, fifth cranial nerve pain receptors and blood vessels producing some of the symptoms.
Migraine is a brain disorder
Migraine is treated prophylacticly with measures designed to decrease the frequency and/or severity of headaches and using abortive measures designed to relieve the headache once it hits. Prophylactic measures begin with a search for migraine triggers. Some people find becoming too hungry causes a migraine. Others say, certain odors will trigger an attack. Sometimes bright or flickering lights will cause migraine. In many people, though, there is no clear trigger. Keeping a diary of record of what one has been eating, drinking or feeling just before an attack may help identify triggers.
Some migraine suffers have fewer attacks if they receive chiropractic treatment. In others, unconsciously clenching the teeth will lead to headaches and may be relieved by special devices fitted by a dentist. Two classes of prescription drugs used mostly for high blood pressure also decrease attacks in some people, even though migraine has nothing to do with high blood pressure. One group of drugs originally used for treatment of depression helps some, even though there is no causal relationship between depression and migraine. A vitamin, co-enzyme Q10, and an over-the-counter preparation, Petadolex7, have proven more effective in trials than prescription medicines.
A group of medicines called the triptans often abort headaches much more effectively than over-the-counter (OTC) remedies. The OTC remedies often block enough of the pain to permit the sufferer to continue work, but do not completely alleviate all of the migraine symptoms. By contrast, when the triptans do work, they stop almost all of the migraine effects. Not all migraine suffers can safely use triptans. For example, people with high blood pressure ideally need monitoring when they take their first dose, to make sure their blood pressure will not rise inappropriately. Certain migraines, notably basilar or hemiplegic migraine, should not be treated with triptans.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH, FACOEM is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at
ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator http://www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
Why Reduce? According to Sandy Leffingwell, MD, MPH, most people find controlling weight difficult, especially if they eat out often. Extra weight increases pain in the backs, hips and knees. Extra weight contributes to higher workers comp costs due to prolonged healing times and additional complications for individuals who are overweight. We often find that high dollar claims might have been reduced if the claimant had not been overweight.
In the back, extra pressure on discs in the low back causes degeneration of the discs, narrowing the space between vertebrae, leading to pinching nerves emerging between the bony arches behind the blocks of the vertebrae.
In the hips and knees, the pressure leads to erosion of the cartilage between bones. When the cartilage is gone, bone rubs on bone, wearing it away. Bone can repair itself, but if the wear is faster than replacement, the bone get thinner and thinner, eventually developing small fractures. Decreasing the pressure slows the rate of destruction and allows healing to catch up.
These are some simple hints that have helped some people with weight control.
1. When you eat, the small intestine tells the brain when you have had enough by secreting two chemicals. From starting to eat until the signal says “enough!” is usually about 45 minutes. Most people can put away a lot of food in 45 minutes. Try quitting while still hungry, but promise yourself if you are still hungry in 30 minutes, you will go back for (workersxzcompxzkit) more. And, if you are hungry, keep that promise otherwise you won’t believe you the next time you promise yourself. You will find that not only are you not hungry, you have more energy than usual.
2. Choose low fat foods, preferably with whole grains. Fat has about twice the calories per pound of carbohydrates or protein. Whole grains are converted to sugar more slowly than refined sugars or grains, and give your body time to better manage the intake.
3. Keep low-calorie, high-fiber foods (like fruits) available for snacking. It is hard to have a healthy diet if the foods needed to do that are not readily available.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at
ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact
Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
Nasal Allergies Strategy Plan
Prevent build-up of an injurious amount of allergens: Remove allergens from your environment. Concentrate first on the bedroom, as you spend more time there than any other single place. Keep windows closed, do not permit pets in the room and eradicate plants growing near your home causing trouble.
Keep harm at a distance: Wear a respirator (mask) when doing tasks likely to cause a problem. Examples might include cleaning a dusty or moldy storeroom, mowing the lawn or vacuuming carpets.
Keep harm from getting closer: Use cromolyn sodium, an over-the-counter (OTC) nasal spray designed to prevent certain white cells from releasing histamine in response to an allergen. This medication prevents the attack you will have in a few hours, but will not help the attack you are already having –that histamine has already been released. It must be used three or four times a day to be effective, but works well.
Put up a strong barrier: An antihistamine, such as OTC or one of the more popular prescription medications will prevent the released histamine (workersxzcompxzkit) from binding to cells in spite of using cromolyn sodium.
Repel the attack in progress: Use a cortisone-like drug to relieve inflammation caused by antihistamine released in spite of masks and cromolyn sodium and causing inflammation in spite of the antihistamine.
Reach for weapons which, though less effective than the first-line defenses, might still turn the tide. Use decongestants***, like pseudoephedrine. These act like adrenalin to decrease blood flow and hence congestion and edema (swelling) in the nose and decreases secretions.
Things are desperate! Do anything you can: If you have actual sinus pain in the cheeks or around the eyes, or if you have a severe earache, use oxymetazolone nasal spray. This is a last resort, because it is an adrenalin-like medicine that may raise blood pressure and cause nervousness. (Consult your primary caregiver before taking these types of medications, especially if you are elderly, have high blood pressure or other heath problems.) If you use it for more than five days, it may become the problem rather than fixing the problem. It will, however, often provide rapid relief when nothing else does.
You’ve lost. Hope for rescue: If sinus infection has begun, you may need antibiotics. Note, however, infection usually does not occur until late in the illness. The pain results from a pressure difference.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at
ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact
Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
We intend the outline to provide a rationale explaining what combinations of medicines may be used to control allergies. Use only those steps that are needed to solve the problem for you. In general, try to use remedies toward the top of the list. Reducing the allergic load and using protective masks for special tasks are prudent for everyone with allergic problems. Beyond that, most people prefer to use antihistamines as their sole treatment. Antihistamines usually will work with one or two doses of medicine per day, which is more convenient than the four times a day required for Nasalcrom®. Some people find that antihistamines make them nervous or jittery. Usually, it is not an antihistamine that causes this but rather a decongestant mixed with antihistamines in over-the-counter sinus or cold remedies. Watch for the word "decongestant;" it usually means there is an adrenaline-like drug in the preparation. If antihistamines alone are not adequate, or if they cannot be taken for some reason, the next line of defense usually is a corticosteroid nasal spray to reduce the inflammation caused by the allergic reaction. Again, the reason is mostly the convenience of once- or twice-daily dosing. Nasalcrom® would also be an excellent choice for a second level treatment. For patients using both an antihistamine and a corticoid spray, Nasalcrom® really is the next best addition, despite the need to use four times a day for best effect. Using a decongestant such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed®) would follow as a fourth level of defense. Treatments lower in the outline than the decongestants are usually needed only if the problem developed without warning, so that the other remedies could not be applied in time. If you should reach the point of requiring antibiotics, it is important to use methods to open the sinuses at the same time and afterwards. If you do not, the bacteria causing sinusitis may be destroyed as planned, but may be replaced with a fungal or yeast infection, which is even more difficult to treat. Using a saline solution to rinse mucous out of the nose often helps symptoms greatly. The recipe is 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 quart (~900 mL) water. You can buy a salt solution in a spray bottle and then refill the bottle.
Author: Sanford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at
ssl@hlmconsultants.com. www.HLMConsultants.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself. WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice. ©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
Cognitive Distortions and Testing for Truth — It easy to find
Depression: Cognitive Therapy evidence to support a false assumption. Want to believe the earth is flat? Go to Florida and look around; it looks flat. More evidence? Go to west Texas and look around; it looks flat. More evidence yet? Gee, you’re a hard sell. Go to Manitoba and look around; it sure looks flat there. It is only when you look for evidence that the world is not flat that the truth emerges — it’s not flat!
Sometimes someone says, “Nothing I do is right. Everything I do goes wrong.” And this person easily cites lots of things they messed up to support their view. If you look at them and say, “Wait a minute. Your clothes are on right-side-out. Your shoes are on the right feet. You drove here without killing anyone. What do you mean everything you do is wrong?” this may lead to a second cognitive distortion, “Oh, those are little things. It’s the important things I mess up.” One may respond to this statement by saying, ”So it’s only important if you mess up? Does that really make sense? Have you ever tried wearing your shoes on the wrong feet; perhaps it’s more important than you think. And wouldn’t you suppose the person you didn’t kill while you were driving here thinks that’s important?”
It’s been found people’s strengths and weaknesses are often the opposite sides of the same coin. They do what they are good at, when it might be better to try something else. This idea seems to work in depression. People are encouraged to “be responsible” or “take responsibility.” But if people take responsibility for things beyond their capacity to control, it sets them up for failure and depression. Depressed people often seem laudable in their willingness to try to solve problems around them, but when it begins to hurt, it’s time to quit. It may be worthwhile reminding oneself that one does not have to be perfect to be good, and good enough is often just that — good enough. (workersxzcompxzkit) Many problems in life can be approached usefully by first asking “Who owns this problem?” If it really isn’t yours, don’t volunteer!
Note: Knowing this information, may help a WC Manager communicate more effectively with an employee with this type of problem.
Author: Sandford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at ssl@hlmconsultants.com.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.
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