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Environment And The Developing Brain

Environment And The Developing Brain

by | Feb 24, 2020 | Blog

Each day, I found it fascinating on what our brains are capable of, such as controlling our thoughts, memory, organ functions, and speech. As we get older, we start to notice developmental disorders that are caused by the environment. I searched up some articles about brain development and I came across this article that discusses how the environment affects brain development. It was written by researchers from NIH and it got me reading to the end. I thought you’d enjoy learning about it.

The environment can develop numerous different disorders in a person, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children at an early age. It affects every 1 in every 110 American children and there is no cure. ADHD can cause a person to lose concentration or control of their behavior. There is an approximately 4.5 million children from ages 3 to 17 years old with ADHD. There is an ongoing research that shows the correlation between pesticide and ADHD, while other research has shown how diet can develop neurotoxic developmental effects. Another ongoing research is by in-house researchers at the National Toxicology Program who are developing a comprehensive test to identify the short and long term effects of early exposure to environmental chemicals, and the impact these chemicals have on adolescent’s behavior. This is necessary to conduct research on because it can help discover different solutions to this problem, so children or adolescents would not experience developmental brain disorders that are impacted by the environment. I continue to wonder how we all as members of the public can become aware of some of these environmental risk factors, and work hard to avoid them.

For more information I personally encourage you to take a look at what we are doing at the Health, Environmental Education and Awareness (HEEA) program. At the HEEA day, we educate members of our community on the relationship between the environment and public health. Experts share nuggets of life-saving health and environment information in a joyful and entertaining atmosphere.

I can tell you that human health is truly complex. But there is hope. Obtaining and empowering ourselves with the latest information and research on different health conditions is important for protecting your health. There are a lot of valuable information published by health care providers, researchers and other experts from around the world. You can read free and updated information on health issues affecting mothers, women, children and families and other health issues such as HIV/AIDS on our website at the International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and HIV/AIDS. You can also read other interesting articles online on public health, medical research, and how research is changing our lives at IJTRansmed.

Useful links:
www.niehs.nih.gov.
www.globalhealthprojects.org/programs/environment/heea-program/

*At the time of writing, Ms. Kanisha Blake, MPH (Epidemiology) was a public health intern at the Global Health and Education Projects, Washington, DC, USA, under the mentorship and supervision of Dr. Romuladus E. Azuine.

Asthma And Its Environmental Triggers

Asthma And Its Environmental Triggers

by | Feb 10, 2020 | Blog

Growing up as a child in urban area in Maryland, I would often see many children my age experience asthma and the agony that comes with it. Personally, I do not have asthma, so I do not know first-hand how it feels to wake up in the middle of the night with an asthma attack that causes the muscles around the airways to tighten up. While browsing through the internet, I found an article that was published by experts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) here in the United States on asthma and how it is associated with the environment. I thought I should share here because I believe that this would help me and others that do not have asthma understand asthma and what people that do have the disease go through on a daily basis.

Asthma is a disease that impacts the lungs. The symptoms can include coughing, chest tightness, breathing problems, and wheezing. People with asthma can experience the muscle around their airways tighten up and the symptoms can get worse. Asthma is considered a chronic disorder in childhood. It affects about 40 million people. With good information and management, people with asthma can live healthy lives. But they need to know the triggers and try to avoid those triggers to the best of their abilities.

Having asthma running in the family can increase the chance of a child developing asthma. Different substances in the environment can activate asthma. These substances include dogs, cats, molds, fungi, dust mites, and cockroaches. The National Survey of Lead Hazard and Allergens reported 46 percent of homes contain dust mites that can cause an allergic reaction and 25 percent of homes had high levels of allergen levels that can cause an asthma attack to occur. Learning about asthma can increase the awareness to others on how to create symptom-free days for people with asthma. This can also allow researchers to develop methods or techniques on how to eliminate this issues that are affecting many children.

For more information, I encourage you to take a look at what we are doing at the Health, Environmental Education and Awareness (HEEA) program. At the HEEA day, we educate members of our community on the relationship between the environment and public health. Experts share nuggets of life-saving health and environment information in a joyful and entertaining atmosphere.

I can tell you that human health is truly complex. But there is hope. Obtaining and empowering ourselves with the latest information and research on different health conditions is important for protecting your health. There are a lot of valuable information published by health care providers, researchers and other experts from around the world. You can read free and updated information on health issues affecting mothers, women, children and families and other health issues at the International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and HIV/AIDS. You can also read other interesting articles on public health, medical research, and how research is changing our lives at our online public health publication called IJTRansmed.

Useful links:
www.niehs.nih.gov
www.globalhealthprojects.org/programs/environment/heea-program/

*At the time of writing, Ms. Kanisha Blake, MPH (Epidemiology) was a public health intern at the Global Health and Education Projects, Washington, DC, USA, under the mentorship and supervision of Dr. Romuladus E. Azuine.

Living with Autoimmune Diseases

Living with Autoimmune Diseases

by | Aug 18, 2019 | Blog

Like most of us, you wake up in the morning, you feel fully energized and refreshed, but then you start to realize not everyone gets to feel like this. Imagine waking up each day feeling fatigued and pain throughout your body. Well a lot of people that have autoimmune disease goes through these symptoms every day. As I was scrolling through the internet about theses illness, I saw an interesting article from the National Institute of Environmental Health about the association of autoimmune disease and the environment that I would like to share with you guys.

The environment can have an impact on autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are when the immune system is not functioning properly by causing antibodies in the body to attack healthy cells, tissues, and organs. It can impact any parts of the body and there are more than 32 million people that have an autoimmune disease. The autoimmune antibodies can start to form years before the symptoms of autoimmune disease appear. Autoimmune disease can develop through the sunlight and low socioeconomic status.

As I was reading, I saw that the author mentioned the environmental triggers that can initiate autoimmune disease. Some of the triggers include exposure to paint thinners, cleaning supplies, and nail polish. Another trigger is exposure to fine particles of crystalline silica and eating gluten. After reading this article, I realized that this topic is important and there should be more research to be done on this issue. Identifying solutions to this problem can help people not experience the symptoms of autoimmune disease and live a healthier life.

You can learn more about your health and how you can protect and improve your health. For more information, take a look at what the Global Health and Education Projects (GHEP) and volunteers are doing at the Health, Environmental Education and Awareness (HEEA) program. At the HEEA day, we educate members of our community on the relationship between the environment and public health. Experts share nuggets of life-saving health and environment information in a joyful and entertaining atmosphere.

I can tell you that human health is truly complex. But there is hope. Obtaining and empowering ourselves with the latest information and research on different health conditions is important for protecting your health. There are a lot of valuable information published by health care providers, researchers and other experts from around the world. You can read free and updated information on health issues affecting mothers, women, children and families and other health issues such as HIV/AIDS at GHEP’s global health journal on maternal and child health and aids. You can also read other interesting articles on public health, medical research, and how research is changing our lives at the journal of translational medical research and public health known as IJTRansmed. Finally, you can also write and share your comments on any health issue that you’d like to share. You never know who might be saved by reading that little piece of information that you write.

By: Kanisha Blake, BS, MPH (C). Ms. Blake  is a Master of Public Health candidate at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA with a concentration in Epidemiology. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Wesley College, Delaware. She is an intern with the Global Health and Education Projects Inc. (GHEP) where she works closely with GHEP leadership in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs, participates in supervised research, manages social media, and writes impactful blogs on public health issues.

Health, Environmental Education & Awareness (HEEA) Day – July 27, 2019

Health, Environmental Education & Awareness (HEEA) Day – July 27, 2019

by | Jun 2, 2019

The 4th Annual Free Community Picnic Celebrating Annual Health, Environmental Education & Awareness (HEEA) Day holds on Saturday, July 27, 2019. The purpose of HEEA Day is to educate and increase citizen awareness on the individual and community health effects of intentional and unintentional environmental /waterways pollution.

FEATURING:

+CPR Training & Group PE;
+Asthma, Anti-Bullying Education;
+Heart Health Education;
+Environment & Chesapeake Bay Demos;
+Fun for kids, Adults & Families;
+Free Food and Drinks;
+Gifts & Prizes plus Music

REGISTRATION LINK
Click here to register: Vendor and individual registration.