These are new areas in the practice of medicine. They deal with illnesses that are preventable or treatable, such as arthritis, colitis, heart disease, etc. There are a multitude of factors at play in the development of environmental illness. Some of these factors are:
- Heredity – This might relate to a defect in the ability to detoxify because of an abnormal liver detoxication system.
- Nutritional Status – This might relate to poor eating habits, maldigestion, or malabsorption.
- Toxic Exposures – These can occur at home or at work, and are not necessarily more than the “usual” exposure to synthetics in our environment.
- Food Hypersensitivities – Resulting from a damaged immune system and / or a damaged intestinal lining, these can be a major cause of illness.
- Inhalant Allergies – A major cause of symptoms related to environmental illness.
This illness builds up over a number of years–it is not a sudden acute disease. It can lead to some of the chronic problems in life. We become aware of the illness, and so we think it is “acute” but it only came about because of an eventual collapse of our body’s immune and detoxication systems.
This new illness is developing because humans are not adapting to their new “chemical” environment with devitalized food sources. Our “systems” can’t keep pace with the toxic substances we “feed” them and thus, they slowly deteriorate. Just as a heart attack takes many years to develop, the environmental illness also takes a long time to develop. Thus, reversing the process requires more than a quick fix. Healing takes consistent, intentional care over a long period of time.
- Who Are the Doctors Practicing Environmental Medicine?
- How Does Environmental Medicine Fit into the 21st Century?
Origins Of An Illness
Stress
Toxins
Infection
+
Triggers
Nutrient deficiencies
Allergens
Trauma
Toxic chemicals
Memories
Thoughts
Viruses
Bacteria
Fungi
Social interactions
Heavy metals
+
Mediators
Cytokines
Lymphokines
Prostoglandins
Leukotrienes
Hormones
Neurotransmitters
Lead to: Signs and Symptoms
Gastro-Intestinal
Gyno-Urological
Central Nervous System
Skin
Pulmonary
Cardiac
Musculo-skeletalEyes
Ears
Nose
Vascular
Immune system
Endocrine
Types Of Illnesses Evaluated by Environmental Medicine
Basically, all complaints of a chronic nature, whether a name of a disease has been assigned or not:
- Chronic toxic exposures
- All chronic neurological illness
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Chronic ear infections
- Multiple sclerosis
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Eczema
- PMS
- ADHD
- Chronic recurring infections
- Multiple chemical sensitivity
- Chronic allergic illness
- Asthma
- Autoimmune diseases
- Chronic fatigue syndromes
- Headaches of all Types
- Depression
- Panic attacks
- Autism
- Chronic insomnia
- Vulvodynia
- Chronic arthritides
- Irritable bowel syndrome, etc.
Example: A Very Sick Physician
This patient was a 36 year-old white female M.D., and was first seen in June of 1993. Her main complaints were:
- chronic sinus infections
- migraine headaches
- chronic muscular headaches
Prior to detailed evaluation, the following conditions were suspected:
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Immune System Dysregulation
- Inhalant and Food Allergies
- Rule out: Chemical and Heavy metal toxicity
Laboratory evaluation revealed the following:
- Skin tests showed allergic response to most foods, trees, weeds, dust, molds, amd animals
- Nutritional: Zinc and Magnesium deficiencies
- SMA-22 (Biochemical analysis)
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
- Complete Blood Count
- Ferritin showed normal
- High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
- T4 (Thyroxin)
- Platelet Neurotransmitters: Low Dopamine, Epinephrine, Metanephrine, Normetanephrine
- Toxic Chemicals: Elevated blood levels of Benzene, Trimethyl benzene, Trichloroethane
- FLAT Insulin GTT – Indicating Malabsorption
- Immune Studies showed
- Decreased IgG 3 and 4
- Anti-thyroid antibodies
- Anti-parietal, smooth muscle. myocardial antibodies
- Increased immune complexes
- Positive rheumatoid factor
- Decreased NK cell activity
- Positive anti-myelin antibodies
- Positive Benzene Ring antibodies
- Stool Study: Maldigestion – Dysbiosis: Overgrowth Klebsiella and Citrobacter
- Amino Acid Analysis: Maldigestion and malabsorption
- Glutathione Level: Decreased
- Chymex (PABA) Test of Pancreatic Function: Decreased.
Post-evaluation diagnoses showed:
- Food Allergies
- Inhalant Allergies
- Chemical Toxicity
- Increased Intestinal Permeability
- Increased Oxidative Stress [Low Glutathione]
- Pancreatic Insufficiency with Maldigestion
- Malabsorption
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Autoimmunity
- Immunodeficiency
The therapies utilized included:
- Intravenous Nutritional and Antioxidant Support
- Detoxification: Ultra Clear and oral nutrition
- Antifungal and bactericidal therapy to correct abnormal gut flora with probiotic support
- Amino Acid Therapy (oral and intravenous)
- Intravenous high dose gamma globulin (for immune deficiency and autoimmunity)
- Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization
- Transfer Factor
- Melatonin Therapy
- Precursor therapy: Amino Acids for Neurotransmitter deficiencies
The results? The patient experienced slow improvement over sixteen months to a point of 90% wellness. I’m still working on depression and allergies, but she is free of almost all of her original symptoms.