Your habitat, your health
The impact of environmental medicine
Look around you. You may be living in a bustling metropolis, with skyscrapers emerging from nowhere, countless honking cars in the morning, and people always in a hurry; or you may be residing in the mellow side of the country, where there are quieter streets, fewer people, and where time seems to run slower. Wherever you are, there have been countless studies and proof that the environment that you live in influences your health too, and this is what environmental medicine is all about.
Environmental medicine is a branch of environmental health that tackles how the environment affects human health including its risks, causes, evaluation, treatment, and prevention of diseases where there has a likely, probable, or established environmental cause. More accurately, it was defined by the 1988 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Role of the Primary Care Physician in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, environmental medicine is “diagnosing and caring for people exposed to chemical and physical hazards in their homes, communities, and workplaces through such media as contaminated soil, water, and air,” this does not include diseases associated with smoking or alcohol, or those caused by violence, genetic factors, and diet. Environmental medicine should not be mistaken with environmental health, which on the other hand is a broader field under public health that deals with proving the links between the deterioration of the environment and how it affects human health. The study of environmental medicine dates back to more than 50 years ago, in 1962, by American physician, allergist, and researcher Theron G.
Randolph who studied multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) that studies how some individuals are more sensitive to chemicals than others. Since then, environmental medicine has become more established, practiced more earnestly in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with France and Germany leading the way. Studies on the environmental links to cancer, the ozone layer’s effects on human health, global warming, air and water pollution, and food poisoning, are some of the issues covered by environmental medicine. Since this practice still needs continuous research and stronger guidelines, sometimes it is mistaken as alternative medicine, which is not the case. It sets itself apart from alternative medicine, however, as it still follows the methods of standard medicine rather than purely basing it on non-scientific applications.
The practice of environmental medicine aims to detect biological signs of disease even before its onset, and to provide individuals with preventive care. If symptoms have started to appear, environmental medicine also aims to provide immediate treatment based on their study of the disease. Because a lot of diseases are environmentally-related and avoidable, without environmental medicine, current treatments and ways of prevention may not have been possible. As much as there is a growing need for more physicians focusing on environmental medicine, it is still not as popular nor is it being offered in medical schools as substantially as other fields of medicine. As the environment changes, our health may be at risk as well and to adapt to these changes properly, more physicians should be trained on this field now than ever before.
Wherever you are, there have been countless studies and proof that the environment that you live in influences your health too, and this is what environmental medicine is all about.