SEC-S16 / W4 | "The Environment and Our Health"🌍👩‍⚕️

A good morning my healthy friends and all other steemians in diaspora and a happy new week to you all. It's a beautiful Tuesday morning, I trust you are doing great, I am fine too.

Without sound health, life would be meaningless and there won't be any sweetness in it. So always be intentional about taking care of your health for that's your greatest asset.

Moving forward; I welcome us all to this week engagement challenge season 16 week 4 and I thank the @Healthy steem community for hosting on "The environment and our health". I still remain your girl @tripple-e coming your way today.

Let's see what this topic entails.....

According to World health organization (WHO)

"A healthy environment is the foundation of a healthy life."

🌍What do you understand by the word "environment "?

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Let me define it from a general sense; Environment is everything that's around us both the the living; that is biotic and non living things abiotic. These involves the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, even the land that we are living; and all the animals both on land and in the water and also the all the planets that are in the world.

Another of my understanding about an environment is that; it is a surrounding of a particular organism or a group of people; and the environment influenced their survival and developmental process.

🌍How do our surroundings impact our well-being?

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This picture shows social interactions with friends

Our surroundings are constantly changing and they are complex too. Since human beings are part of it, our activities can have a great impact on our surroundings.

Note that: these impacts can be both negative and positive

Therefore our surroundings both physically and socially can have a great impact on our well being in so many ways. Here are my reasons 👇

Remember I said both physical and social.

physical environment we have;

• Natural elements: which consist of the green vegetation, when we are exposed to these spaces it can help to improve our cognitive behavior, improve our moods and also reduces stress. And also spending time outside exposed us to direct sunlight which is the production of vitamin D.

• Another impact is Pollution; This one is on negative side, because pollution can be through air, water and noise(from industrial machines, generators etc). These pollution can irritates airway, pose as a problem to the respiratory system and also contribute to the feeling of fatigue and even anxiety.

Under Social environment we have the following;

• Social support: You know having a strong social support from family, friends and even from our community can have a great impact on our well being, because it will give us a sense of belonging, reduces stress and shade us from a whole lot of challenges.

• Social interactions: How we interact with people around us matters a lot, because social isolation and having toxic relationships can have a great impact and be detrimental to our mental health.

🌍What are some ways pollution, like air or water pollution, can affect our health?

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Picture showing water pollution

Both air and water pollution can affect our lives negatively in so many ways; here are few ways:-

• Respiratory problems: Air pollutants like; smoke, dust can cause problems to the lungs when inhaling them. It can lead to difficulty in breathing, coughing, sneezing and long exposure to it can birth out asthma and also increase the rate of lung cancer.

• Air pollutants can cause heart diseases, because when the air pollution particles enter into the bloodstream, it will inflame the blood vessels thereby causing blood clotting rate to increase, this can be very dangerous, because it can lead to heart attack and stroke.

• Some water and air pollutants are carcinogen (a substance that can cause cancer in living tissues). So if you are exposed to chemicals in water like arsenic or benzene in air, you stand a high risk of cancer.

🌍What are some simple actions you take every day to promote environmental health?

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Picture showing how to sort your waste

Even my smallest habit can make an impact in my environment, it's just for me to be conscious of my activities and actions

These are my simple actions I take on daily basis to promote environmental health;-

• I make sure I sort my waste well, I don't throw plastics and nylon into the bush, I sold recycle my plastics to the groundnuts and oil sellers.

• I give my old clothes to the less privileged people who are in dire need of it, instead of throwing them away to cause environmental hazard.

• I make sure I turn off my lights and electronics when not in use.

• I unplugged my charger from the socket when I'm not using it.

• I air dry my clothes instead using a dryer.

• I try to avoid buying things on impulse but rather I focus on things that I really need at that time.

🌍How can education and awareness play a role in promoting environmental health?

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Education and awareness are very important towards creating a shift for a more sustainable future through equipping individuals on knowledge, skills, and make them have a sense of responsibility.

• Through education people gets to have the knowledge about environmental problems like; pollution, deforestation and climate change. Having the knowledge about these would make people to take precautions.

• Environmental education inspires a sense of responsibility, to secure healthy environment and people also get to know about the connection between a healthy environment and their wellbeing.

• Education fosters innovation by equipping people with the knowledge and skills towards renewable energy technologies, waste management and also towards a sustainable agriculture.

A healthy environment contributes to a healthy life. Take precautions.