ALS & Advice For Funeral Directors, With Stuart Millheiser

By Jason McDonald


When it comes to the working world, depending on the field being focused on, it's easy to imagine that varied levels of risk exist. Specifically, some workers may become more sickly than others, depending on what they are exposed to. As far as ALS is concerned, which is a serious condition in its own right, funeral directors may want to be careful. There's plenty to learn, as supported by Stuart Millheiser, and these details should give you a better understanding of this job.

According to an article on TIME, it would seem as though funeral directors are at higher risk of developing ALS. The main reason for this is the exposure that these workers have to formaldehyde, which is a natural chemical compound that has a number of uses. These include - but are not limited to - space heaters and smoke for cigarettes. As one can imagine, this compound is quite frequent in the work of funeral directing, according to Stuart Millheiser.

The Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry published that went into extensive detail about deaths tied to ALS, in tandem with formaldehyde exposure. There was a study that sampled a total of 1.5 million Americans with individual jobs. Of course, you may already imagine that exposure will vary from person to person, since not everyone possesses the same type of employment. Regardless, the results of said study were shown and they were, for lack of a better term, surprising.

The study detailed that funeral directors, who were mostly male, were 4.5 times more likely to pass away due to ALS, than those who worked jobs where formaldehyde exposure was anywhere from low to nonexistent. The reason why most of these deaths involved men was because they found themselves involved in embalming, where various elements were present. Women, in this field, seemed to work at the front desk where interaction was more prevalent. This is useful information, and I am sure that names like Stuart Millheiser can say the same.

To say that this type of research is interesting would be nothing short of an understatement. Researchers are always looking for more information about ALS, whether it's in terms of causes, the people who are afflicted the most, or what have you. The study mentioned earlier is definitely a step in the right direction, not only for researchers and medical specialists but those who'd like to raise awareness in general. When it comes to ALS, as a whole, new information is always welcome.




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