Environmental Illnesses

What is an environmental illness?

Chemicals, fumes, pollution, allergens, and other health hazards are common in our environment, and sometimes they can make us sick. Maybe you have mysterious headaches that only occur on weekends. Or you develop nausea and a rash after moving into a newly built home. Such symptoms can be caused by exposure to toxins commonly found in our homes, workplaces, and communities. For example:

Those weekend headaches may be caused by a faulty furnace leaking carbon monoxide. Using a fireplace could create a back draft of furnace gases that can cause headaches. Replacing the furnace could make the headaches go away.
Building materials in new homes—insulation, particleboard, carpet adhesive—emit formaldehyde, which can cause nausea and rashes. Also, the paper that makes up the outside layers of drywall provides the right conditions for the growth of mold. Exposure to these molds may cause respiratory problems and allergylike symptoms and may provoke asthma attacks.

You and your doctor may not know what is causing your illness, or it may be mistaken for another problem. Environmental hazards can cause or aggravate a wide range of common medical problems. A thorough evaluation of the environments in which you work, live, and play could reveal what is causing your illness.

Brief Overview of Environmental Illness

Environmental Illness is a term used to describe illness in which environmental triggers play a significant role in producing symptoms, and the illness itself. People suffering from environmental illness may have allergies, be sensitive to certain chemicals, as in multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) or be unable to work in an office or other enclosed environment without becoming ill, which is known as sick building syndrome.

There is no standard definition for environmental illness, as agreement has yet to be reached about what this should entail. There are many differing opinions within the medical and research communities as to the causes and mechanisms of “EI” and some refuse to acknowledge the existence of anything other than classical allergic reactions.

In the absence of an official definition, environmental illness can loosely be defined as a reaction to common components of a persons environment, including chemicals, food, water and physical particles, that results in symptoms relating to multiple organ systems and a general poor state of health.

American Academy of Environmental Medicine Definition

Environmentally Triggered Illnesses (ETI) are the adverse consequences that result when the homeodynamic interactions among biological functions are compromised by external or internal stressors. These stressors may range from severe acute exposure to a single stressor, to cumulative relatively low-grade exposures to many stressors over time. The resultant dysfunction is dependent on the patient's genetic makeup, his nutrition and health in general, the stressors, the degree of exposure to them, and the effects of seven fundamental biological governing principles: biochemical individuality, individual susceptibility, the total load, the level of adaptation, the bipolarity of responses, the spreading phenomenon, and the switch phenomenon.

What causes environmental illnesses?

Short and long term exposure to hazards such as chemicals, allergens, pollution, and other toxins can cause environmental illnesses. Chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause lung cancer. Exposure to asbestos, a common insulating material that can be found in older buildings, can cause tumors in the linings of the chest and abdomen, lung cancer, and other diseases. Wood-burning stoves and improperly vented gas ranges can cause respiratory problems. Drinking water from a rural well contaminated with pesticides or solvents from a nearby industrial plant could cause cancer or neurological problems. Inhalation of spores from molds that grow on building materials can cause respiratory problems and may make asthma more severe. Exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace may cause sterility, especially in men.

Often we don't know such exposures are causing our sickness. We don't know the types or amounts of chemicals to which we've been exposed, especially when the symptoms of disease or illness don't develop for years. For example, most cancers have a latent, or silent, period that can last a decade or more before symptoms develop.

What symptoms do environmental illnesses cause?

Symptoms depend on the environmental cause of the illness or disease. Common symptoms include headaches, cough, fatigue, and nausea. In some cases, you may not have any symptoms for years, until a disease progresses far enough for you to notice signs of it. In other instances, exposure may cause immediate allergic reactions, such as when contact with dust mites, cockroaches, pollen, or pets triggers an asthma attack. Or symptoms may emerge more gradually and become worse as the time of exposure continues.

For some people, going to work in a building with poor indoor air quality may cause headaches, coughs, dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. The building may be improperly ventilated, causing exposure to fumes from cleaning solvents or cigarette smoke. New buildings or new carpets emit formaldehyde, which is known to cause symptoms such as nausea, respiratory problems, dry or inflamed skin, and eye irritation. Buildings may have bacteria, molds, or viruses that have built up in heating and cooling ducts, carpets, ceiling tiles, or insulation and can cause fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, and other respiratory symptoms.

Symptoms of environmental illness are difficult to diagnose and may be mistaken for other medical problems. If you suspect exposure to toxins could be making you sick, it is important that you discuss your thoughts with a doctor.

How are environmental illnesses diagnosed?

Doctors and other health professionals can diagnose an environmental illness by taking an exposure history, which is a lengthy set of questions about your home, workplace, habits, occupations, lifestyle, family, and other matters. Your answers to the questions can help identify chemicals or other hazards to which you've been exposed recently or in the past and help your doctor decide whether you need specific tests to diagnose your illness.