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| Vibration White Finger |
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| (Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome)
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Vibration White Finger is a disorder that forms part of the syndrome known as Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS); a painful
and disabling disorder of the blood vessels, nerves, joints and muscles of the hands and arms.
HAVS is caused by repeated and
frequent use of hand held vibrating tools and is the cause of significant ill health. Symptoms may include Raynaud's phenomenon
(this is the white finger part), nerve symptoms, and muscular aches and pains.
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Vibration White Finger comes in bouts that are triggered by cold weather or touching a cold object.
A typical bout of Vibration White Finger is as follows: |
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At first the fingers go white and cool, due to the small blood vessels narrowing or going into spasm.
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They then go a blue-ish colour, due to the oxygen being used up from the reduced blood supply of the narrowed blood vessels.
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They then go bright red, due to the blood vessels opening up again and the return of a good blood flow.
This may cause tingling, throbbing and pain.
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Numbness or loss of feeling and pins and needles in one or more fingers may develop.
It may be mild and just affect the tips of the fingers and come and go.
In severe cases a permanent numbness may extend along affected fingers.
This may cause clumsiness and difficulty in doing fine tasks.
For example, it may become difficult to fasten buttons, handle coins, screws, nails, threads, etc.
In many people the severity of nerve symptoms is somewhere in between these two extremes.
Sometimes one finger is badly affected with other fingers only mildly affected.
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Your employer has a responsibility to protect you from vibration white finger, but you should help your employer by
asking if the job could be done differently, without using vibrating tools. If this cannot happen, you should:
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Ask to use suitable low-vibration tools.
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Use the right tool for the job. |
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Check tools to make sure they are properly maintained. |
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Make sure cutting tools are kept sharp. |
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Reduce the amount of time you use the tool in one go, by doing other jobs in-between. |
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Keep warm at work. |
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Wear gloves and warm clothing if working in the cold. |
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Store tools correctly so they do not have cold handles when next used. |
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Encourage your blood circulation by keeping warm, giving up smoking, and massaging
and exercising your fingers during your breaks. |
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If you are diagnosed with vibration white finger you should inform your employer as soon as possible.
If you stop exposure to vibration at an early stage in the condition, you may recover. |
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Also, by law, your employee must contact the Health and Safety Executive about your condition. |
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At White Finger Claims we understand the trauma and strain Vibration White Finger can cause - not only physically
and psychologically but also financially. Therefore it is our aim to minimise any further stress and
worry for you by ensuring that you receive the compensation that is rightly yours as swiftly and efficiently
as possible. |
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For a free assessment as to whether you can make a compensation claim for Vibration White Finger call us on: Freephone 0800 783 9535.
Our office hours are 8am - 9pm, Monday - Friday. 9am - 5pm, Saturday and Sunday
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