One of the main concerns of modern-day medicine is the relationship between our surroundings and our health, understanding health as our optimal wellbeing in physical, psychological and social terms.
Following up on our previous debate on Climate Change in our preceding issue, we will now clarify some concepts about bioenvironmental health.
BIOENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH is a multidisciplinary science which studies the nature of the radiations in our environment and their effect on the health of living beings.
Radiation is defined as the emission and propagation of energy-transmitting waves through space or other means.
Radioactivity is the property present in the nuclei of certain atoms when emitting diverse radiations upon disintegrating.
Today we are surrounded by radiation, some of which is natural and an inherent part of our planet, and other artificial radiation caused by the action of man and which are inevitable, given our current technological development. We neither see nor feel this radiation, but it gradually alters our biological rhythms and our organism´s functioning, and may lead to sometimes serious illness.
Amongst natural radiation we highlight three emission centres par excellence:
- Ground.- Subsoil minerals (radon gas), geological changes (faults)…
- Atmosphere.-Solar radiation, geomagnetic storms, sunspots…
- Cosmos. -Electromagnetic radiation propagated from the depth of the cosmos.
Amongst artificial radiation caused by human activity we point out that resulting of high voltage lines, Transformers in urban settings, telephone and televisión antennas, mobile and cordless phones, electric appliances, Wifi networks, certain types of construction or decorative materials which may provoke the emission of radon gas, etc.
Biopathological areas are those areas which are contaminated due to excessive natural radiations which are prejudicial to the health of living organisms.
The Earth is an immense magnetic field with two poles, North and South, which do not behave in a regular manner, but rather experience local alterations and vibrations which impact global magnetic networks.
Our organism is a complex bioelectromagnetic system. Prolonged exposure to a diversity of radiation and continuous changes in our electromagnetic surroundings forces our vital organs to make an adaptive effort which may exhaust a living being´s self-regulating (nervous, neurovegetative and immunological) systems. These dysfunctions may lead to different alterations such as insomnia (sleeplessness), cephalgia (headaches), neuralgia (pain of the nerves), etc., which over time may trigger other more serious processes and pathologies.
It is important to study and control the surroundings of our sources of bioenvironmental contamination.
As regards natural radiation, obviously we cannot control the Earth`s magnetic field or underground geological features, but we may choose the place where we place our bed or the areas in which we spend most of our time.
Concerning artificial radiation, it is also true that we may not do without technology or telecommunications, but we may make a more rational use of these advances which make our lives much more comfortable. Controlling areas of radiation-emitting sources, making sure we do not spend too many hours close to these each day…
We spend many hours of our lives sleeping, so we should monitor the emission of devices located close to our beds ur upon our bedside tables – telephone bases, mobile phone chargers, devices such as refrigerators or microwaves placed against adjacent walls, those in the kitchen next to our bedroom…It is of particular importance to highlight the indiscriminate use of mobile phones – a major source of radiation.
In many cases, the intervention of an expert is advisable in order to detect and measure specific risk factors and perform a bioenvironmental study which will provide us with a detailed analysis of natural and artificial radiations inherent to our specific surroundings, which may include our home, office or space where construction is foreseen.
Many organizations currently exist which may provide more information about bioenvironmental contamination and the health of our surroundings.
Dr. D.Juan A. Andreo – ASSSA Medical Manager
The information published in this media neither substitutes nor complements in any way the direct supervision of a doctor, his diagnosis or the treatment that he may prescribe. It should also not be used for self-diagnosis.
The exclusive responsibility for the use of this service lies with the reader.
ASSSA advises you to always consult your doctor about any issue concerning your health
