5 Lifestyle Changes To Prevent And Recover From Environmental Illnesses

Environmental illnesses often occur when people are exposed to toxins or substances in the atmosphere that can make them feel sick, often chronically and disabling so.

Many illnesses of this nature can be very difficult to diagnose, with many doctors and healthcare professionals mistaking the symptoms for a different problem.

Exposure to toxic chemicals can also cause a wide range of common medical problems or make them progressively worse over a period of time.

Read on as we look at five lifestyle changes people can implement to prevent and recover from both acute and chronic environmental Illnesses.

Give Black Mold the Elbow

Black mold can infest homes or other buildings, especially in damp areas, and long-term exposure to the fungus is potentially harmful to health.

It is usually very dark green or black in colour and often gives off an extremely distinct musty or damp smell.

Black mold often grows on surfaces that contain a lot of cellulose, such as wood, gypsum board or paper. The mold prefers damp, warm environments, and can grow wherever the conditions are right.

Bathrooms, laundry rooms and shower cubicles are particularly susceptible to black mold and the toxins they produce can lead to poisoning.

The symptoms can appear similar to those of an upper respiratory tract infection, such as the flu or a common cold.

People with other health conditions or a weakened immune system may experience more severe symptoms. For instance, a person with asthma or a respiratory allergy may find that their symptoms worsen.

Antihistamines, decongestants and steroids are amongst the treatments used to deal with the symptoms, although permanently removing mold is the best way to gain long-term relief.

This may require thoroughly removing mold from all of the surfaces a person comes into contact with and taking steps to prevent it from ever returning.

Smoking Kills

Cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco are made from dried tobacco leaves, before other substances are added to enhance the flavour. 

The smoke produced by these products is a complex mixture of chemicals created by burning tobacco and its additives.

Tobacco smoke is made up of thousands of chemicals, with research showing that at least 70 of these are known to cause cancer.

These carcinogens include nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, lead, ammonia, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and many more.

These substances can cause cancer, heart disease, lung disease and many other serious health problems that are known to reduce a person’s lifespan.

CBD oil can help alleviate the pain caused many of these health issues, although not smoking in the first place is clearly the most advisable course of action.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16 million people in the United States are currently living with a disease caused by smoking.

If smoking continues at the current rate, over 5.5 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 years of age are expected to die prematurely from a smoking-related illness.

Workplace Exposures Can Impact Fertility

Studies have shown that numerous substances are reproductive hazards for both men and women, potentially impacting on their ability to have healthy children.

Examples of reproductive hazards include radiation, pesticides, chemicals, solvents, pharmaceuticals and many more.

Whether or not exposure will cause a reproductive problem depends on numerous factors including the amount of time you’re exposed, the type of hazard you’re exposed to and how the exposure occurred.

Over 1,000 workplace chemicals have been shown to have negative reproductive effects on animals, although a high percentage of these have not yet been studied in humans.

In males, research has shown that some reproductive hazards can change the level of hormones in the body. This could affect how sperm are made or negatively impact sexual performance.

It is also possible to expose your existing family to hazards in the workplace by accidentally bringing them home. This could affect your partner’s health, the health of a pregnancy or your children.

To avoid being affected by workplace hazards, follow the company’s health and safety policy to the letter and wear personal protective equipment where appropriate.

Keep On Top of Heating Maintenance

Harsh winters leave many people relying on their household heating system to keep warm, although this can lead to many unseen problems.

Boilers, furnaces, heat pumps and more are crucial during the winter months and having a fully functioning system is crucial.

Proper maintenance is often overlooked and this can create numerous issues that may impact a person’s health and wellbeing.

The problem is even more pronounced in warmer climates, with heating systems used just a handful of times during the year.

Dust and debris often get trapped in the system and this can cause problems like asthma, common colds and flu.

At the more dangerous end of the scale, failing to have a properly maintained system can increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Exposure to a high level could be life-threatening, so make sure you have your heating properly installed and inspected periodically by a fully-trained professional.

We would like to introduce you to the Lammas Eco-Village situated in Wales, UK. A great case study of this 'Sustainable Living Community' provides a great deal of information on this initiative and how it relates to the topic at hand. You can find it at: https://propertyworkshop.com/eco-home/eco-village/

​Safe Drinking Water is Essential

Each person on earth requires up to 50 litres of clean, safe water for drinking, cooking and simply keeping themselves clean every single day.

Around 1.8 million people die each year of diarrheal diseases like cholera, while millions of others are seriously sickened by a host of water-related ailments.

Economically poor countries are typically water-poor as well, trapping their residents in an ever-decreasing circle of poverty and misery. 

There are also many other diseases believed to have been caused by the common anions found in natural drinking water.

Fluoride is one of the most common found in drier climates where the geology favours the release of fluoride ions to soil as the rocks decompose. 

Inhabitants in some Asian countries have suffered a high incidence of fluorosis due to the levels of fluoride in their drinking water.

Ensuring that everyone has access to what the United Nations General Assembly describes as “the human right to water” is perhaps the most important environmental issue facing society today.