Category: Workplace Medical Mystery
Workplace Medical Mystery Solved: Unknown Illness in Worker at Greeting Card Plant
Camilla started experiencing worsening respiratory symptoms while working at a plant that produces greeting cards. (Read about her symptoms here). Her doctor ordered tests to see what was happening with Camilla’s lungs. The results of two lung function tests showed concerning results. One was a carbon monoxide diffusing capacity test that estimates the ability of Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentWorkplace Medical Mystery: Unknown Illness in Worker at Greeting Card Plant
Camilla works at a plant that produces greeting cards and ribbon products. She started working at the plant over 15 years ago when production first started. The plant is open around-the-clock for three shifts with workers in multiple departments across two floors of the building. Camilla worked in different departments over the years but spent Read More >
Posted on by 15 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: What Is Making This Roofer Sick?
Ray worked as a roofer and started feeling sick during work. His symptoms started halfway through the first day and, by the end of the second day, he felt even worse with a headache, cough, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. At the doctor’s office, his tests came back normal. Read more about his case Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery: What Is Making This Roofer Sick?
Ray drove to his work site on Monday morning, sipping coffee along the way. Spring was almost over, and everything was in full bloom. He was thankful for a cloudy day and cranked up the air conditioning, he knew he would start sweating once he got to work. Today Ray and his crew were working Read More >
Posted on by 21 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: Camp Counselor Illness
After a week of working at an outdoor day camp as a counselor, Daniel began to feel sick with a cough, headache, and a fever. Several other counselors experienced similar symptoms requiring them to miss work. Read the medical mystery here. The camp owners recognized they had a problem and called in the county health department for Read More >
Posted on by 5 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery: Camp Counselor Illness
Daniel was excited to have his first summer job working at a day camp in Iowa. He was happy to be working outside and with his friends. He and several other teenage counselors reported to work a week before camp started to get the facilities ready for the campers. The clean-up duties included raking leaves Read More >
Posted on by 26 CommentsNorth Pole Medical Mystery SOLVED!
Crisis averted. Barring severe weather issues or a catastrophe, it looks like children around the world will receive their presents now that the elves are healthy and back at work. (Read the case details here). After Santa requested a NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation, NIOSH researchers were mysteriously transported to the North Pole to try to figure out Read More >
Posted on by 10 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery at the North Pole
What is going on at the North Pole? Several elves in the toy making department have reported congestion, cough and shortness of breath. While it is cold and flu season, all of the elves have had their flu shots and the issues seem to be contained to the elves working in the toy shop. A Read More >
Posted on by 29 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: Water Patrol Deputy Gets Sick Out on the Lake
Jim worked as a water patrol deputy for the county sheriff’s office. While working a 10-hour shift in the hot sun over a busy holiday weekend he began to feel sick. It started with a headache while he was working in a channel where hundreds of boaters congregate for a floating party. He then became Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery: Water Patrol Deputy Gets Sick Out on the Lake
“Today’s going to be a scorcher–expect highs to reach a balmy 99 degrees!” exclaimed the voice from the radio. Jim grumbled as he listened to the weather report on his drive to work. Jim is a deputy with the county sheriff’s office assigned to the water patrol unit. Hot summer days always bring people out Read More >
Posted on by 22 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: What is causing a recycling worker’s respiratory distress?
While working at a metal recycling facility, Joe was suddenly overcome with shortness of breath, coughing, chest pressure, and eye irritation. After transport to a local hospital, Joe was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS. Read more about his case here. What was the cause of his illness? The plume of smoke Joe Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery: What is causing a recycling worker’s respiratory distress?
Joe worked at a metal recycling facility in Nevada. His typical job duties included operating a material handler to load scrap metal into a shear for crushing. During his shift at the recycling facility, Joe looked up to see a plume of thick yellow smoke swirl around a pile of scrap metal and was suddenly Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsMedical Mystery Solved: What Sent a Pregnant Prison Worker to the Hospital?
Jasmine worked at a prison in Central California. She became sick with flu like symptoms when she was 8 months pregnant. Read her work history here. She was hospitalized with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and severe muscle pain and diagnosed with pneumonia. After a blood test, Jasmine’s doctors diagnosed her with Valley Fever or Coccidioidomycosis. Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentMedical Mystery: What Sent a Pregnant Prison Worker to the Hospital?
Jasmine worked at a prison in central California that provided long-term housing and services for minimum, medium, and maximum custody inmates. She was 34 years old and had worked at the prison for six years. Jasmine was a correctional officer, and her job duties included security checks, patrolling the facility, and occasionally grid searches and digging for Read More >
Posted on by 22 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: Influenza-like Illness strikes Worker at Wildlife Refuge
Just before entering veterinary school, Michelle found a summer job at a wildlife refuge. She spent most of her time caring for Asian and African elephants until she came down with what she thought was the flu. Read more about her symptoms here. Had she been around anyone who was sick? Had she travelled anywhere Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery: Influenza-like Illness strikes Worker at Wildlife Refuge
Michelle was thrilled to have landed a job at a wildlife refuge in the Ohio River Valley the summer before she started veterinary school. She hoped to specialize in zoological medicine and work with zoo animals. Three months into her summer job, Michelle came down with the flu—or so she thought. An animal lover, Michelle Read More >
Posted on by 16 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: Fire Training Officer Lands in Hospital with a Distressing Lung X-Ray
Bob, an experienced firefighter and trainer started to experience chest pain, shortness of breath, and a cough with blood following a firefighter training that he set up and led. At the emergency room, the doctor ruled out a blood clot in his lungs. However, an x-ray did show Bob had small nodules in his lungs. Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentWorkplace Medical Mystery: Fire Training Officer Lands in Hospital with a Distressing Lung X-Ray
Bob was an experienced firefighter. He worked for 17 years as a member of his city’s fire suppression team working his way up to fire captain. After 5 years as captain, Bob decided to transition to the role of fire training officer where he could work five 8-hour shifts per week instead of 24 hour Read More >
Posted on by 13 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery Solved: Influenza-like Illness Sickens Golf Course Worker
Workplace Medical Mystery Solved: Golf Course Worker Becomes Ill with an Influenza-like Illness With five golf course maintenance staff sick, the golf course superintendent was suspicious. Either something really contagious is going around or there is something at the course making the staff sick, he thought. Not taking any chances, the superintendent informed the course’s Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsWorkplace Medical Mystery: Influenza-like Illness Sickens Golf Course Worker
Chris was thrilled to have landed a summer job working at the local golf course. He was going to be a junior in college and he knew forthcoming summers would entail internships in a dark, windowless office. Chris loves playing golf and this job would give him the opportunity to play for free whenever he had the Read More >
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