Of the many occupations, shopkeeper is one that is the most neglected, both by themselves as well as by the community in general. No one even considers it as an occupation; unfortunately not even the shopkeeper – a small survey by the author hinted.

Even though they provided essentials throughout the pandemic not much is spoken about their health concerns.

Shops are mostly small in size with owners available most of the time and employing one or two workers to receive and open up cartons or bags of goods and arrange the items on the shelves.

The risk to shopkeeper’s health depends on the behavior of customers (masking, physical distancing etc. during a pandemic) as well as on the goods that is stocked and sold.

During a pandemic, the shopkeepers run the risk of being infected by the covid virus as they are exposed to hordes of people flocking to their shops, some of which were ill-ventilated. In non-pandemic times there are other infectious diseases (tuberculosis, common cold etc.) they can contract that the customer might have.

In addition, the shopkeeper health can be impacted depending on the goods stocked and sold – gasoline in filling stations, pesticides, etc. Hence it is necessary that shopkeepers be mindful of these and in case of a visit to a doctor in case of an illness, speak about these to the treating doctor.

Example: A shopkeeper carelessly handling pesticides and not storing them as per manufacturer’s instruction can expose oneself and the other employees which can lead to health effects ranging from mild skin irritation to genetic changes, tumors, blood disorders, endocrine disruption, nerve diseases, coma and death.

Most of the shopkeepers in India lack the facility for proper washrooms and that leads to its own set of problems – right from cross-infections, bladder issues, etc.