Environmental Health & Sanitation

Environmental Health

• Environmental health is a branch of public health focused on the relationships between people and their environment.
• Learning targets include discussing environmental health, identifying diseases caused by poor sanitation, and explaining how poor sanitation impacts individual health.

Environmental Problems

• Air pollution is the contamination of air with harmful substances that harm life and health.
• Water pollution is the contamination of water causing harmful effects on life and health.
• Noise pollution is excessive sound causing hearing loss, stress, fatigue, and high blood pressure.
• Land pollution is the degradation of Earth's surface through improper use of soil.

Diseases and Disorders Caused by Poor Sanitation

• Respiratory Diseases:

  • Common cold: A viral infection of the upper respiratory tract caused by various viruses.

• Gastrointestinal Diseases:

  • Diarrhea: Unusual frequent and liquid bowel movements.
  • Cholera: An infection of the small intestine, often resulting in severe diarrhea.
  • Dysentery: An infectious disease occurring from contaminated food or water.

• Skin Diseases:

  • Illnesses resulting from skin contact with pollutants, such as eczema, scabies, and ringworms.

• Neurological Impairments:

  • Mercury poisoning: A metal poisoning and medical condition due to mercury exposure.

Importance of Environment

• Healthier environments can prevent a substantial portion (almost a quarter) of disease burden, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The environment and human health have a crucial, delicate relationship.

Explore environmental health, sanitation-related diseases, and the impact of poor sanitation. Understand air, water, noise, and land pollution, and their effects on health. Respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases are discussed.