Is it an electronic soft touch pipette? There are different designs and I have seen ones which can be operated by both hands so giving a natural rest to the dominant hand. Autoclaving can be a problem though with electronic ones. Google should come up with some answers on suppliers.

Karen

Dear List

I would be grateful for your valued advice:

Lab worker who reports generalised stiffness, discomfort in (mainly) his right dominant hand when working with DNA samples. This task involves carrying out a process involving pipetting with soft touch pipette (thumb) and moderate grip of the pipette for periods of up to 2 hours. He tries to take a break away from the task every 30 mins but this can be difficult given work pressures.

The symptoms begin after about 15 to 20 minutes but the task is incomplete at that point and to change user is not acceptable due to quality controls. As he returns to the task again over the course of the day the symptoms worsen.

The symptoms settle completely after 2 days.

I feel physio referral may be of benefit and that to stop and take a break from the task at 15 minutes would make sense before onset of symptoms but this is potentially not viable due to the nature of the process. Automation also problematic due to quality issues.

I believe one other worker has similar symptoms and there are only 3 trained to do the task (one recommendation arising from that!)

Any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

Many thanks.

Kind regards

Pippa Stanford

Occupational Health Advisor

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