Environmental medicine is focused on the interaction between humanity and the environment. On a custom patient-by-patient case, environmental medicine investigates the adverse experiences an individual may experience as a result of their exposure to environmental toxins.
Excitants that affect an individual can come in the form of air, food, drugs, and water found in common locations such as one’s home, workplace, school, and play environments. Exposure to various environmental factors can adversely affect organ systems, but limited understanding of environmental factors in traditional medicine can hinder treatment efforts. Exposome factors can even cause obesity.
What Does Environmental Medicine Cover?
While the field of environmental medicine is understandably broad, specific areas of concern include the following:
- Air pollution
- Lead poisoning from construction materials
- Food poisoning
- Mold Endotoxins Expsure
- Mercury poisoning via fish or seafood
- Impact on chemicals on human bodies, which may lead to developmental effects such as cancer
- Effect of ozone depletion, increase of UV radiation, and skin cancer
- Effect of nuclear material and subsequent radiation due to power plant meltdowns, accidents, and intentional detonations
- Sick Builiding Syndrome – poor indoor air quality, etc.
- Water-borne illnesses – chlorine and other toxins in the water.
Stubborn conditions like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Chronic Pain conditions, Neurological Conditions such as ALS and MS, Parkinson’s Disease, and even Thyroid Disease (the thyroid is sensitive to mercury poisoning & other toxins) can be related to Heavy Metal toxicities, and genetic mutations such as MTHFR and other single nucleotide polymorphisms (genetic mutations causing problems in the detoxification pathways in the liver and elsewhere leading to build-up of toxins).
What to Expect During Your Initial Assessment
To begin, your physician will perform an examination called an exposure history. Because most environmental and occupational diseases tend to manifest as common medical symptoms, it’s crucial to take into account various potential sources of hazardous exposure, including pesticides, herbicides, skin products, home cleaning products, and your food and water.
A correct diagnosis can help stop exposure on the part of the individual and prevent the spread of disease by helping to avoid exposure, but the primary goal is to distinguish the presence of non-specific symptoms that may present themselves as a disorder and define them as an environmental illness.
Ultimately, the goal of this approach to medicine is to equip the patient with the information and resources necessary to limit their exposure to contaminants and risk factors while taking advantage of emerging medical solutions, technological advances, aiding in complete detoxificaiton pathways via the liver, kidneys, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract, and while eating an organic diet.
