B2o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 15,1984
BY SUZANNE KEENE
LANCASTER Keeping family
members safe and healthy is
always a challenge, but the task is
especially difficult for farm
families who are exposed to more
dangers than the average
household.
Farm Safety Week, which begins
tomorrow, is a good time to reflect
on the dangers confronting farm
families and to devise ways to
avoid these hazards.
A nearly invisible but frequent
hazard, dust is easily overlooked
when making a list of dangers to be
avoided. According to Lancaster
Lung Association Program
Director Nellie Blake, it is im
portant for farmers to become
aware of the dangers in the air and
to avoid them.
In an effort to increase
awareness of the health problems
dust can cause, the Lung
Association is planning a program
titled “Dangers in the Air,” for
March.
Each Day-
A New Account
As my husband and I waved
goodbye to our family on Labor
Day I lamented, “What happened
to this summer?” To me, summer
seemed more like three weeks than
three months. And I’ll admit that I
ran out of time to complete some
summer projects like sanding and
coating the picnic table and
painting the porch. And at this
writing, I have not “put up” my
applesauce.
My unfinished summer chore
lists has prodded me to re-think my
time management. My first in
stinct and plan is to get up earlier.
I’ve decided I’m a morning person
and I get more accomplished
before noon than I do the entire
rest of the day. (Maybe this is
leftover from my farm background
where much work was ac
complished before breakfast!)
Managing time is similar to
managing bank accounts. This
little story makes a good analogy.
Each Day Is
A New Account
If you had a bank that credited
your account each morning with
$86,000 That carried over no
balance from day to day
Allowed you to keep no cash m
your account And every mor
ning cancelled whatever part of
that amount you had failed to use
during that day What would you
do?
Draw out every cent every day,
of course, and use it to your ad
vantage! Well, you have such a
bank and its name is “TIME.”
Every morning, it credits you
with 86,400 seconds. Every night it
rules off as lost whatever of this
you have failed to invest to good
purposes.
It carries over no balances. It
allows no overdrafts. Each day, it
opens a new account with you.
Each night, it burns the records of
the day. If you fail to use the day’s
deposits, the loss is yours. There is
no going back. There is no drawing
against the “Tomorrow.”
Take note of farm
Blake said she believes that
offering such programs will help
prevent “the terrible crippling
diseases that result from
ignorance of the facts on farm
safety.”
Part of the seminar will focus on
just what lung diseases can be
contracted from the air and how
they can baprevented.
Dr. Harshadkumar Patel,
director of the Department of
Pulmonary Diseases at Lancaster
General Hospital, cites two lung
diseases that plague farmers in
particular.
The first of these diseases is Silo
Fillers Lung, a condition that is
caused by inhaling the gas
produced when wet silage is placed
in storage. Silo gas, Patel says, “is
a pungent smelling, brown gas,”
that often permeates a silo three or
four days after it has been filled
with wet silagae.
The combination of the moisture
and silage forms nitrous and nitric
acid which can burn the airways
By Michelle S. Rodgers
Lancaster Extension
Home Economist
If you, too, are looking to get the
most of your “time account”
consider these time tools.
Plan each day’s activities the
preceding evening so that you can
get started early m the morning.
Making a list helps give you a
concrete idea of your day’s plan.
Activities can be arranged for
efficiency. Personally, I like to
make a list of “chores” for the
week and then each evening cross
off completed jobs and star the
ones to be completed the next day.
This keeps my list manageable as I
can start a new list each week
instead of a never-ending list!
All jobs have three parts: getting
ready, the job itself, and cleaning
up. Try combining the clean up of
one job with the getting ready of
another. For example, set the table
as you put the dishes away.
Keep a list of 5,10, and 30 minute
tasks that you like to do. Become a
“wait watcher” carry a
paperback book to read,
correspondence or needlework for
those times you find yourself
waiting.
Plan some time for yourself.
Fatigue is a big time waster. Set
aside some time to do at least one
thing you enjoy. I have a favorite
magazine that I look forward to
reading one article/day for
relaxation. Counted cross stitch,
baking, and reading the paper
provide relaxation for me.
Separate your activities into A,
B, and C priorities: “A” for those
most important, “B” for those of
secondary importance and “C” for
those of little importance. Ask
yourself if you really need to
concern yourself with the “C’s.”
Time management is a skill I
hope to improve on. I still plan to
get that applesauce canned! And
really, it’s up to each of us to invest
this precious fund of hours,
minutes and seconds in order to get
the utmost in health, happiness
and success for our families.
The Cooperative Extension Service li an
affirmative action, equal opportunity
educational inatitutian.
hazards during Farm Safety Week
and lungs when inhaled, resulting
m shortness of breath and
sometimes bleeding. The symp
toms, Patel says, may appear
immediately or may be delayed for
up to 24 hours.
Silo Fillers Lung is treatable, but
more importantly, it is also
preventable. A farmer should
make sure a silo is well vented
before he enters, and if upon en
tering he notices the pungent smell
of the gas, he should exit im
mediately. “Because the gas
stinks people can know when it’s
there,” Patel said.
Patel said that over the past
eight years he has seen the number
of cases of Silo Fillers disease
decrease. He credits better
education for limiting the number
of those stricken with this ailment.
Farmer’s Lung is another
disease that frequently plagues
farmers. This disease, Patel ex
plained, is an allergic condition
caused by inhaling fungal spores
that form on moldy hay. Farmers
are most often exposed to these
spores when feeding livestock
moldy hay, “throwing clouds of
dust and clouds of fungi.”
The disease is marked by a
shortness of breath, increased
coughing, discomfort in the lungs,
a tightness in the chest and a fever.
Sometimes the allergic reaction
comes later, “so he (the farmer)
cannot relate it exactly to working
with the hay,” Patel explained.
In the chronic form of the
disease, Patel said, a chest x-ray
will show signs of scar tissue or
fibrosis, an indication of per
manent damage to the lung and a
loss of lung capacity.
“The important thing is to
discover the disease in its early
stages and treat it,” he stressed.
Because the symptoms of
Farmer’s Lung resemble a
number of other lung diseases, it is
often misdiagnosed, Patel nbted. A
person experiencing these symp-
Safely precautions are important when using microwave
NEWARK, Del. - Used
properly, microwave ovens are
fast, cool, safe and efficient. But
sometimes the use and care
manuals forget to, mention the
burned fingers, melted dishes and
other hazards of careless use, says
University of Delaware extension
home economist Sally Foulke.
Although a microwave oven is
not likely to cause a serious fire,
some items can get hot enough to
char, smoke, or even burst into
flames, she says. Here are some
precautions you can take;
• Use only approved microwave
safe cookware. Some plastics can
melt or change shape in a
microwave oven.
• Don’t use towels made from
recycled paper. (The label will tell
you.) Bacon grease on recycled
paper towels sets up the potential
for a fire.
• Do not use twist-ties to fasten
items you put into a microwave.
Instead use string or plastic. If you
use a cooking bag, cut a tie strip
from the the open end to serve as a
fastener.
• When drying herbs or
freshening crackers, place a cup of
water in the corner of the oven to
absorb excess microwave energy.
• To prevent burned fingers, use
potholders when removing food
from a microwave oven. Though
microwaves don’t heat containers,
heat from food can be transferred
to a container. Food continues to
heat for some time even after
removal from the oven, so handle
containers carefully.
Use extreme caution when
heating infant formula in a
microwave oven, Foulke warns.
Although a container may feel cool
to the touch, the formula may be
scalding. It’s very important to let
the formula stand at room tem
perature after removing it from
safely
toms should see a doctor im
mediately and should tell him if
there is a chance that he has been
exposed to the spores created by
moldy hay.
Medication can help the symp
toms of this disease, can’t
prevent them if the farmer con
tinues to be exposed to hay mold.
The main cure is to stay totally
away from hay mold spores, Patel
said.
A number of other farm
situations also hold dangers from
the air for farmers. According to
information provided by Ron
Jester, a Delaware extension farm
safety specialist, typical chicken
houses and swine operations
generate a considerable amount of
dust.
The typical broiler grower, he
notes, inhales more than 77,000
cubic feet of air, weighing 6,244
the oven. There have been reports
of esophageal burns to infants
from formula heated in microwave
ovens. Overheating also causes
nutrient loss.
Use only dishwasher-safe plastic
or glass bottles for a baby. Some
bottle liners can melt in a
microwave oven. However,
several manufacturers of bottles
with plastic liners provide
microwave heating instructions. In
that case, follow their instructions
to the letter, Foulke says. If
melting occurs, put in a claim with
the manufacturer.
To heat a baby bottle in a
microwave oven, microwave the
open bottle of formula at the full
power setting until just warm.
Attach the nipple and cap, and
Family living leader receives award
NEW YORK, NY - Diane V.
Brown, extension family living
program leader for the Southeast
Region of the Penn State Extension
Service, has received a
Distinguished Service Award from
the National Association of Ex
tension Home Economists. She
was honored at the association’s
50th anniversary meeting held in
New York City, Sept. 10 to 14.
As regional program leader,
Brown works closely with ex
tension home economists in 16
counties. She has helped several of
them develop strong advisory
committees, which she sees as
essential in developing effective
programming that meets local
needs.
A native of Maryland, Brown
holds a bachelor’s degree in home
economics education from
Bridgewater College, Virginia, and
a master’s degree in family
management and community
pounds at zero degrees centigrade
each year. If the air is dusty, the
fanner is inhaling a considerable
amount of dust.
A recent study by the Ontario
Pork Producers Marketing Board,
Jester said, found that hog feeding
- especially scatter feeding -
created the most dust of all the
jobs studied.
All dust, Jester said, causes lung
irritation which results in fibrosis.
And, the more dust inhaled, the
greater the risk. To reduce the
amount of dust inhaled, he
recommends wearing a par
ticulate respirator.
Setting aside a Farm Safety
Week can make farmers more
aware of the hazards that confront
them daily, but only farmers
themselves can take the necessary
steps to assure that farms, do in
fact, become safer places to work.
shake the bottle to redistribute the
heat. Let stand several minutes
before checking temperature.
Always sprinkle several drops of
formula on your inner wrist before
giving the bottle to the baby.
Steam Can cause a nasty burn, so
be careful when removing any type
of covering or lid from
microwaved foods. Tilt the lid or
plastic wrap away from you. Be
sure to pierce plastic pouches or
sacks to prevent steam build-up.
Always stir liquids before
microwaving, especially water.
Gas bubbles invisible to the naked
eye may erupt when pressure is
applied. Foulke says there have
been several reports of burns from
dropping a tea bag into a cup of
microwaved boiling water.
development from the University
of Maryland. She is currently
pursuing a doctorate in adult
education at the Pennsylvania
State University.
*