What Is The Bad Effect Of The Environment On Your Health?

The effect of the environment on your health is not a new topic. Scientists and researchers have been studying it for a while now and they have repeatedly said that the current environment of the planet is affecting the health of all life adversely. With a rise in indoor and outdoor pollution, poor water quality, climate change, and other adverse human activities, the health of people is suffering.

The environmental risk factors are associated with grave health concerns and even death. Therefore, it is now even more important to study the factors that are causing environmental degradation and further, form the policies to reverse its effect on health. In this article, we take a look at the major physical factors that affect health and health concerns that are most prevalent these days.

Effect Of The Environment On Your Health: Physical Factors That Affect Health

#1. Climatic Change

Climate change is not a myth. The ozone layer is depleting, the temperature is rising, and glaciers are melting. The number of environmental concerns that result from this change is huge and critical. Global warming is making the planet inhabitable for a number of species of flora and fauna. Even in places with temperate climates, the conditions are getting worse each year. UV radiations reaching earth are having an adverse effect on the health of all life including humans, plants, and animals.

Read more about the effects of the environment on your health.

#2. Radiation

Excessive Radiation in nature is associated with serious health concerns like cancer. People get exposed to radiation not only from nature but also from manmade equipment, like that used mostly in medical diagnosis. Overexposure to radiation can cause many health issues, in worst cases, it can lead to death.

Exposure to a large amount of radiation during a short span impacts health compared to exposure to the same amount of radiation over a longer duration. People with compromised immune systems along with the elderly, infants, pregnant women are at most risk.

Read more about the effects of radiation exposure on your health.

#3. Air Quality

Smoke from industries, motor vehicles, and other sources is negatively affecting the quality of the air we breathe every day. Tobacco and cigarettes are the main cause of indoor air pollution. Further, decreasing forest cover is another reason for the decline of air quality. Combustion of petroleum products leads to the generation of gases like carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen and other agents that are poisonous.

The pollutants in the air can have adverse effects. Visit here to read more about the health effects of polluted air.

#4. Water Pollution

Water quality is going down too. Due to the garbage that is dumped into water bodies and the pollutants from factories, the natural water resources are getting polluted. Plastic in water is one of the major pollutants and is linked to numerous health concerns. Not only does the bad quality water affects human health but there is evidence that it is the cause of death in many aquatic animals.

Read More about the effects of water pollution on your health.

#5. Hygiene

Environmental hygiene plays an important role in preventing diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and other germs. Therefore, a lot of stress is given by the health workers and researchers on maintaining personal and environmental hygiene. Bad hygiene can lead to various communicable diseases.

Simple habits like washing hands frequently can help in avoiding catching many transferable diseases. When understanding the effect of the environment on your health both personal and environment plays equal parts. Personal hygiene makes sure that you don’t get diseases related to poor personal hygiene. And environmental hygiene helps make sure that there are no disease outbreaks that can affect the whole community.

Read more about the bad effects of poor hygiene and the effect of the environment on your health.

If you want to understand how to maintain hygiene visit here.

Adverse Effect Of The Environment On Your Health

The effects of environmental factors including those listed above are severe. In this section, we briefly discuss the health concerns that result from environmental issues. The problems listed below are just the tip of the iceberg. Environmental hazards these days are so many that it is nearly impossible to list them together. However, here are some common problems being faced by the human population due to the degradation of the environment.

#1. Increased Mortality Rate

This is no brainer. With the rise in environmental hazards, the planet is becoming more and more inhabitable with each passing day. Although, there is no data on the exact number of deaths caused due to adverse environmental conditions, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that nearly 13 million deaths each year are caused by environmental factors that can be prevented. Deaths and diseases are more in developing countries.

#2. Lung Diseases

Compromised air quality is giving rise to a plethora of diseases, the majority of which are lung diseases. Bronchitis, asthma, sinus, and allergies are becoming so common. Respiratory infections are on the rise and are among the leading causes of death in low-income countries.

Read more about the effect of the environment on the lungs here.

#3. Diarrhoea and Malaria

Among the major diseases caused by poor quality water and air are diarrhoea and malaria. Caused by viruses, these two diseases are quite common in developing and under-developed countries. Majority of the population lacks access to clean drinking water and even those who do are at higher risk of consuming polluted water due to a bad environment. Some other common diseases that also lead to death are HIV/AIDS, stroke, TB, and premature birth.

#4. Stress

Since people spend lesser time outdoors and remain inside home or offices for a major part of the day, they are more prone to stress and related illnesses. When we talk about the impact of the environment, we also consider the fact that the body needs fresh air and sunlight to stay active and healthy. People who spend even a few minutes outdoors every day are healthier than those who stay inside. Read more about the effects on mental health Here.

#5. Hypertension

High blood pressure or hypertension is also among the leading causes of death across the world. In many cases, it can result in either stroke or cardiac issues. Among the other causes of this disease is also a bad environment. Read More here.

#6. Cancer

Cancer is caused by more than one factor and the environment has a huge part to play in it. Exposure to pollutants, radioactive substances, UV rays, harmful gases, etc. can result in cancer of various types. It has become a huge health concern in the world of late and doctors suggest healthier and hygienic environmental conditions as a solution to it. Read more here.

Conclusion

Rapid economic development and population growth can be said to be the major causes behind environmental degradation on the whole. Increased energy use and industrialization are contributing to environmental health problems. Therefore, it is the dire need of the hour to look into our actions that are affecting our environment and hence, our health and find a solution to them.