M3.2 Vulnerable Populations

   In reflecting upon all of my experiences with a primary care physician, I do not recall anyone ever asking me about my home or work environment. When it comes to health and illness, rarely do we ever think about the role of the environment on our well being. Rishi Manchada's comment on the fact that living and working conditions have twice the impact on our health than our genetic code was quite startling. Despite this reality, the structure of one's environment is hardly addressed in health care, which as Rishi states, pushes the idea that health care only exists and begins within the walls of the doctor's office. When Rishi described Veronica's experiences, it made me think back to my own when I was in undergrad. I used to live in a very humid apartment in the Outer Richmond of San Francisco with four other students that had poor ventilation and lots of mold. We were always cleaning and trying to get rid of the mold, but it would always quickly return. As consequence of the mold, I was always depressed, had little energy and frequently experienced respiratory problems such as allergies, much like Veronica. It didn't click in back then that perhaps my symptoms had something to do with the mold and poor ventilation. When I went to my doctor and described my symptoms, they only gave me antidepressants and benadryl as the solution to my problems. When I finally moved out of the apartment, my symptoms lessened significantly and I could feel myself recovering from the year long suffering I went through while living in such poor conditions. I no longer needed the antidepressants or benadryl, which I gladly stopped using.

Reading further about the effects of chemical exposure on the development of children, reproductive health, and the role of chemicals in the foods we eat on obesity, it just astonishing that chemical companies are able to get away with so much. It is horrifying to know that such high levels of chemicals are polluting the bodies of children and that higher rates of cancer, obesity, as well as neuro-developmental disorders continue to be on the rise. Many of us believe that if these chemicals weren't safe for us, the wouldn't be out in the market without having been tested first. People seem to quickly blame genetics and personal choices around having sedentary lifestyles when really they should be examining the role of chemicals in the environment. I feel like that's exactly what these chemical manufacturers want, to have the blame diverted from them so that they can continue to make a profit at our own expense. They make us believe that low levels of chemicals in our blood stream is not harmful when in reality, as we have learned, even low doses of toxins can still be a huge detriment to our health. It disgusts me know that greed continues to sustain the levels of chemicals that circulate throughout our bodies continue to rise and that there is so little protection from it despite current efforts to regulate chemical manufacturers.