Kay Kay Healthcare Ltd.
ENVIRONMENTAL POISONING
SYMPTOMS
For acute environmental poisoning, see Emergencies First Aid: poisoning.
The symptoms of chronic environmental poisoning are wide ranging and often vague. Among the most common:
Cough headache, nose and eye irritation, diarrhea, dizziness, blurred vision, anxiety, lightheadedness, memory loss, drowsiness, tingling in extremities, aching in muscle and joints, difficulty concentrating, fatigue.
In severe cases, depression, an over whelming feeling of weakness, and difficulty breathing.
Disappearance of symptoms when you are not around the possible toxic agent.
WHAT IS ENVIORONMENTAL POISONING
The human body remarkable for its ability to handle the onslaughts of what can at time is a hostile environment. It is capable of neutralizing or expelling many potentially harmful agents, whether they are organic microbes or industrial chemicals or mineral over a period of months or even years, you may develop chronic environmental poisoning. Symptoms of chronic environmental poisoning are often vague and can vary in severity; the condition is thus sometimes mistake for another ailment or remain undetected altogether. Some people cannot tolerate even minimal exposure to certain chemicals because a genetic malfunction interferes with the production of enzymes that would normally metabolize the toxins and neutralize their damaging effects. Other people are just more sensitive to toxins in the environment: this increase sensitivity can be due to age and health factors. Many condition fall into category of environmental poisoning. In some people, for example, environmental poisoning may take the form of an allergy, a physical reaction to a substance that most people are able to tolerate. People who work in poorly ventilated buildings with unhealthy levels of airborne toxins may develop what is known popularly as sick building syndrome, while agricultural workers who use pesticides day after day are at risk for pesticide poisoning. Although not universally accepted in the medical community as a physical illness, multiple chemical sensitivity in which the body reacts adversely to a wide range of substances, from plastics to perfumes, that do not normally trouble most people is yet another condition attributed to chronic exposure to potential environmental toxins. Studies suggest that, once lodged in the body, toxic substances are a factor in the development of many other diseases and condition that may not at first glance seem directly related to environmental poisoning. Among these are birth defects, endometriosis, infertility, other reproductive and developmental problems, coronary heart disease, respiratory illness, and many types of cancer, especially of the lung, skin, and breast. Because we encounter low levels of so many environmental toxins in daily life, identifying the toxin or toxins that may be responsible for environmental toxins poisoning can be difficult. Some of the most common and hazardous toxins are lead, asbestos, gasoline and other petroleum distillates, radon, carbon monoxide, organophosphates, formaldehyde, and drinking water contaminants. Benzene is one hazardous substance that is found in many forms. It is used in the production of deodorant, oven cleaner, soap, and perfume, and it is a component of paints, pesticides, asphalt, and gasoline and jet fuel. It can contaminate ground water and surface water supplies and pollute the air via auto exhaust, manufacturing processes, and cigarette smoke. Yet despite its widespread presence in the environment and its classification as a cancer causing agent in the United States, benzene is generally considered a hazard only for the two million or so industrial workers who are exposed to elevated benzene levels at their jobs. Another common industrial chemical is formaldehyde, which is found in a wide variety of products, including plastics, paper, cosmetics, and carpets. Construction materials, such as particle board, building insulation, and plywood, can emit formaldehyde gas for several years after their manufacturer and installation. Several studies since the 1980s have indicated that long term exposure to formaldehyde is a health risk. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies the chemical as a probable carcinogen, although only industrial workers are consider at risk. Two substance that have received public notice as known carcinogens are asbestos and radon. Asbestos is a fine, fibber like mineral that until recently was used in construction. Radon and its breakdown products, which are present in the Earth’s crust, are released naturally into the air via radioactive decay. Both radon and asbestos are indoor air pollutants that have been significantly linked to the development of lung cancer. Not all building contain asbestos, however; and only certain areas of the United States emit radon at levels considered health threatening. Carbon monoxide is a common, yet poisonous, gas that is released into the air whenever fuel, wood, or tobacco products are burned. Heavy rush hour traffic can generate high levels of carbon monoxide, and dangerous, sometimes lethal levels can build up in poorly ventilated garages or houses where faulty heating devices emit exhaust fumes that stay trapped indoors. When carbon monoxide enters the bloodstream, it disrupts the body’s usual mechanism for transporting and absorbing oxygen. Mild cases of carbon monoxide poisoning may cause headaches, nausea, or dizziness; severe cases can lead to respiratory failure and death. The mineral lead is another contaminant of the air, water, soil, and food. Poisonous at even low levels, lead is known to have a damage effect on the reproductive system, the kidneys, the nervous system, and the production of blood cells. Since the use of lead free gasoline has become widespread, lead levels in the air have been significantly reduced. The EPA sets permissible limits for lead in drinking water. However, young children are still at risk of developing lead poisoning from ingesting particles of lead based paint, which was used in most homes and buildings until it was banned in 1978. Organophosphates are a potential toxic hazard for farm workers, gardeners, veterinarians, and other people who work with pesticides or in pesticides. These chemical, which are usually absorbed by the skin, retain their potency for several days after have been applied to field crops. Their toxic effect can range from extreme fatigue, skin irritation, and nausea to depression, breathing problems, seizures, or coma. Taking preventive actions from checking your home for radon emissions to wearing protective gear when exposed on the job to hazardous chemicals, is the key to combating any level of environmental poisoning. The more you know about the particular risks involved, the better you can avoid toxic substances before they become a problem.
CAUSES
Toxic chemicals can get into the body through inhalation, penetration of the skin, or ingestion. Some substance can affect the human fetes by crossing the placenta; some also contaminate breast milk and thus may be ingested by a nursing infant. Once inside the body, toxins can act in a number of ways. Despite hoe or where a toxin enters the body, it may have its greatest effect on certain target organs. The liver and kidneys, which filter impurities from the body, are often the most susceptible to toxins, especially inhaled industrial solvents. Some chemicals and minerals are stored in the body’s fat or bones and may be released later. Lead, for example, is stored in the bones and may be released when a woman becomes pregnant and her body draws on its stores of bone calcium. Some hazardous agents may be effectively broken down by metabolic may become even more harmful as a result.
DIAGNOSTIC AND TEST PROCEDURES
A doctor will probably give you a complete physical examination and take a detailed medical history. You may be asked to keep a diary of your diet and other behaviour. Your blood, urine, hair, and fatty tissue may also have a liver function test to see how it responds to certain chemicals. Some doctors are currently studying the usefulness of “environmental control units”, special chemically sterile chambers in which patients suspected of having multiple chemical sensitivity are exposed to various substances until those specifically linked to their illness are identified.
TREATMENT
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
The treatment you receive will depend on which toxics substances are identified as causing your illness. For instance, lead poisoning is often treated with chelating therapy, which involves injections of chemicals that bind with lead in the blood; the lead is later eliminated in urine. However, most treatments for environmental poisoning focus on monitoring symptoms and identifying and eliminating offending substances from the patient’s immediate environment.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress reduction techniques, such as yoga and meditation, can help strengthen your immune system, enabling your body to be more resilient to environmental toxins.
HERBAL THERAPIES
Milk thistle, burdock, and dandelion may help detoxify the liver. For general immune support try Siberian ginseng, astragals. For advice on how best to treat your specific condition, consult an herbal practitioner.
PREVENTION
Be aware of your environment. Ask questions. Pay close attention to what you are eating and breathing. A recent study the largest ever on the health effects of airborne particles from smokestacks and traffic found that people in the most polluted U.S. cities are about 15 percent more likely to die prematurely than those living in cities with the cleanest air. Here are some specific preventive steps that you can take:
• Talk to your state environmental office to see if your house is located in an area known for radon contamination; if so, have it tested.
• If you are removing paint from your house, have it tested for lead content. Painting over the old paint may be preferable to removing it, because sanding can release lead particles into the air. Some communities have regulations for removing lead paint; check with your local environmental or health department before beginning the job.
• When using hazardous products, always follow the instructions, and wear protective clothing and eye gear.
• Keep your children and pets off lawns that have recently been treated with pesticides. Stay indoors with the windows closed if trees in your neighbourhood are being sprayed with chemicals.
• Use nontoxic cleaning products and insecticides around your house. Many of these products are now available in stores or through catalos.
• In buildings, be alert to obvious or overpowering chemical odours that may be emitted by paints, pesticides, new carpets, office machines, or other offenders. Make sure the ventilation in your office meets or exceeds standard.
• Some studies indicate that certain house plants can help remove impurities from the air. Consult your local horticulture society or garden centre.
• To help avoid pesticides, thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables, peel produce, and consider buying organic
• Avoid walking or running near stress with heavy automobile traffic; your increase respiration will increase the amount of carbon monoxide and other toxins that you inhale. Without a detector, you may remain unaware of a build-up of the gas, which is colourless, tasteless, and odourless and may not irritation.
• A balance diet will help your body maintain its ability to fight toxins. Vitamin deficiencies have been linked to increasing the toxic effects of several substances. Your susceptibility to lead poisoning, for example, increase if your body is deficient in calcium, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, or vitamin E. however because of some vitamin and minerals can be toxic in large doses, never exceed the amounts recommended on the label for your daily requirements, without first consulting a nutritionist.
• Weight loss diets, which make your body metabolize existing fat for energy, will also result in the release of any chemicals that have been stored in those fat cells. If you want to lose weight, do so slowly so that your system does not become flooded with a sudden release of these substances.
ENVIRONMENTAL POISONING
SYMPTOMS
For acute environmental poisoning, see Emergencies First Aid: poisoning.
The symptoms of chronic environmental poisoning are wide ranging and often vague. Among the most common:
Cough headache, nose and eye irritation, diarrhea, dizziness, blurred vision, anxiety, lightheadedness, memory loss, drowsiness, tingling in extremities, aching in muscle and joints, difficulty concentrating, fatigue.
In severe cases, depression, an over whelming feeling of weakness, and difficulty breathing.
Disappearance of symptoms when you are not around the possible toxic agent.
WHAT IS ENVIORONMENTAL POISONING
The human body remarkable for its ability to handle the onslaughts of what can at time is a hostile environment. It is capable of neutralizing or expelling many potentially harmful agents, whether they are organic microbes or industrial chemicals or mineral over a period of months or even years, you may develop chronic environmental poisoning. Symptoms of chronic environmental poisoning are often vague and can vary in severity; the condition is thus sometimes mistake for another ailment or remain undetected altogether. Some people cannot tolerate even minimal exposure to certain chemicals because a genetic malfunction interferes with the production of enzymes that would normally metabolize the toxins and neutralize their damaging effects. Other people are just more sensitive to toxins in the environment: this increase sensitivity can be due to age and health factors. Many condition fall into category of environmental poisoning. In some people, for example, environmental poisoning may take the form of an allergy, a physical reaction to a substance that most people are able to tolerate. People who work in poorly ventilated buildings with unhealthy levels of airborne toxins may develop what is known popularly as sick building syndrome, while agricultural workers who use pesticides day after day are at risk for pesticide poisoning. Although not universally accepted in the medical community as a physical illness, multiple chemical sensitivity in which the body reacts adversely to a wide range of substances, from plastics to perfumes, that do not normally trouble most people is yet another condition attributed to chronic exposure to potential environmental toxins. Studies suggest that, once lodged in the body, toxic substances are a factor in the development of many other diseases and condition that may not at first glance seem directly related to environmental poisoning. Among these are birth defects, endometriosis, infertility, other reproductive and developmental problems, coronary heart disease, respiratory illness, and many types of cancer, especially of the lung, skin, and breast. Because we encounter low levels of so many environmental toxins in daily life, identifying the toxin or toxins that may be responsible for environmental toxins poisoning can be difficult. Some of the most common and hazardous toxins are lead, asbestos, gasoline and other petroleum distillates, radon, carbon monoxide, organophosphates, formaldehyde, and drinking water contaminants. Benzene is one hazardous substance that is found in many forms. It is used in the production of deodorant, oven cleaner, soap, and perfume, and it is a component of paints, pesticides, asphalt, and gasoline and jet fuel. It can contaminate ground water and surface water supplies and pollute the air via auto exhaust, manufacturing processes, and cigarette smoke. Yet despite its widespread presence in the environment and its classification as a cancer causing agent in the United States, benzene is generally considered a hazard only for the two million or so industrial workers who are exposed to elevated benzene levels at their jobs. Another common industrial chemical is formaldehyde, which is found in a wide variety of products, including plastics, paper, cosmetics, and carpets. Construction materials, such as particle board, building insulation, and plywood, can emit formaldehyde gas for several years after their manufacturer and installation. Several studies since the 1980s have indicated that long term exposure to formaldehyde is a health risk. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies the chemical as a probable carcinogen, although only industrial workers are consider at risk. Two substance that have received public notice as known carcinogens are asbestos and radon. Asbestos is a fine, fibber like mineral that until recently was used in construction. Radon and its breakdown products, which are present in the Earth’s crust, are released naturally into the air via radioactive decay. Both radon and asbestos are indoor air pollutants that have been significantly linked to the development of lung cancer. Not all building contain asbestos, however; and only certain areas of the United States emit radon at levels considered health threatening. Carbon monoxide is a common, yet poisonous, gas that is released into the air whenever fuel, wood, or tobacco products are burned. Heavy rush hour traffic can generate high levels of carbon monoxide, and dangerous, sometimes lethal levels can build up in poorly ventilated garages or houses where faulty heating devices emit exhaust fumes that stay trapped indoors. When carbon monoxide enters the bloodstream, it disrupts the body’s usual mechanism for transporting and absorbing oxygen. Mild cases of carbon monoxide poisoning may cause headaches, nausea, or dizziness; severe cases can lead to respiratory failure and death. The mineral lead is another contaminant of the air, water, soil, and food. Poisonous at even low levels, lead is known to have a damage effect on the reproductive system, the kidneys, the nervous system, and the production of blood cells. Since the use of lead free gasoline has become widespread, lead levels in the air have been significantly reduced. The EPA sets permissible limits for lead in drinking water. However, young children are still at risk of developing lead poisoning from ingesting particles of lead based paint, which was used in most homes and buildings until it was banned in 1978. Organophosphates are a potential toxic hazard for farm workers, gardeners, veterinarians, and other people who work with pesticides or in pesticides. These chemical, which are usually absorbed by the skin, retain their potency for several days after have been applied to field crops. Their toxic effect can range from extreme fatigue, skin irritation, and nausea to depression, breathing problems, seizures, or coma. Taking preventive actions from checking your home for radon emissions to wearing protective gear when exposed on the job to hazardous chemicals, is the key to combating any level of environmental poisoning. The more you know about the particular risks involved, the better you can avoid toxic substances before they become a problem.
CAUSES
Toxic chemicals can get into the body through inhalation, penetration of the skin, or ingestion. Some substance can affect the human fetes by crossing the placenta; some also contaminate breast milk and thus may be ingested by a nursing infant. Once inside the body, toxins can act in a number of ways. Despite hoe or where a toxin enters the body, it may have its greatest effect on certain target organs. The liver and kidneys, which filter impurities from the body, are often the most susceptible to toxins, especially inhaled industrial solvents. Some chemicals and minerals are stored in the body’s fat or bones and may be released later. Lead, for example, is stored in the bones and may be released when a woman becomes pregnant and her body draws on its stores of bone calcium. Some hazardous agents may be effectively broken down by metabolic may become even more harmful as a result.
DIAGNOSTIC AND TEST PROCEDURES
A doctor will probably give you a complete physical examination and take a detailed medical history. You may be asked to keep a diary of your diet and other behaviour. Your blood, urine, hair, and fatty tissue may also have a liver function test to see how it responds to certain chemicals. Some doctors are currently studying the usefulness of “environmental control units”, special chemically sterile chambers in which patients suspected of having multiple chemical sensitivity are exposed to various substances until those specifically linked to their illness are identified.
TREATMENT
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
The treatment you receive will depend on which toxics substances are identified as causing your illness. For instance, lead poisoning is often treated with chelating therapy, which involves injections of chemicals that bind with lead in the blood; the lead is later eliminated in urine. However, most treatments for environmental poisoning focus on monitoring symptoms and identifying and eliminating offending substances from the patient’s immediate environment.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress reduction techniques, such as yoga and meditation, can help strengthen your immune system, enabling your body to be more resilient to environmental toxins.
HERBAL THERAPIES
Milk thistle, burdock, and dandelion may help detoxify the liver. For general immune support try Siberian ginseng, astragals. For advice on how best to treat your specific condition, consult an herbal practitioner.
PREVENTION
Be aware of your environment. Ask questions. Pay close attention to what you are eating and breathing. A recent study the largest ever on the health effects of airborne particles from smokestacks and traffic found that people in the most polluted U.S. cities are about 15 percent more likely to die prematurely than those living in cities with the cleanest air. Here are some specific preventive steps that you can take:
• Talk to your state environmental office to see if your house is located in an area known for radon contamination; if so, have it tested.
• If you are removing paint from your house, have it tested for lead content. Painting over the old paint may be preferable to removing it, because sanding can release lead particles into the air. Some communities have regulations for removing lead paint; check with your local environmental or health department before beginning the job.
• When using hazardous products, always follow the instructions, and wear protective clothing and eye gear.
• Keep your children and pets off lawns that have recently been treated with pesticides. Stay indoors with the windows closed if trees in your neighbourhood are being sprayed with chemicals.
• Use nontoxic cleaning products and insecticides around your house. Many of these products are now available in stores or through catalos.
• In buildings, be alert to obvious or overpowering chemical odours that may be emitted by paints, pesticides, new carpets, office machines, or other offenders. Make sure the ventilation in your office meets or exceeds standard.
• Some studies indicate that certain house plants can help remove impurities from the air. Consult your local horticulture society or garden centre.
• To help avoid pesticides, thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables, peel produce, and consider buying organic
• Avoid walking or running near stress with heavy automobile traffic; your increase respiration will increase the amount of carbon monoxide and other toxins that you inhale. Without a detector, you may remain unaware of a build-up of the gas, which is colourless, tasteless, and odourless and may not irritation.
• A balance diet will help your body maintain its ability to fight toxins. Vitamin deficiencies have been linked to increasing the toxic effects of several substances. Your susceptibility to lead poisoning, for example, increase if your body is deficient in calcium, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, or vitamin E. however because of some vitamin and minerals can be toxic in large doses, never exceed the amounts recommended on the label for your daily requirements, without first consulting a nutritionist.
• Weight loss diets, which make your body metabolize existing fat for energy, will also result in the release of any chemicals that have been stored in those fat cells. If you want to lose weight, do so slowly so that your system does not become flooded with a sudden release of these substances.
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