Health during the
Industrial Revolution
Malaria is a disease that is carried by a special mosquito that grows in an environment left by deforestation. Industrialization leads us to cutting trees for paper, urban development, fire, etc.
An example of a disease caused by air pollution is the Emphysema. This disease is the formation of pockets of air in the alveoli that are part of the lungs. The causes of emphysema are tobacco smoking, exposure to air pollutants, factory fumes and coal and silica dust. So, practically, industrialization causes this disease because thanks to factories and etc. there are many pollutants in the air, the most common being carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, etc. Getting emphysema is as simple as breathing, because you breathe pollutants. There is really no cure to this disease, only progressive symptoms alleviation.
REFERENCES:
>Nordqvist, Christian. "What Is Emphysema? What Causes Emphysema?" Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8934.php>.
>"Substances Causing Pollution in Rivers ." Water Wise. Rand Water, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://www.waterwise.co.za/site/water/environment/substances.html>.
>Waite, Richard. "When Development Causes Disease: Linking Ecosystems and Human Health." World Resources Institute. N.p., 02 Sept. 2008. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://www.wri.org/blog/when-development-causes-disease-linking-ecosystems-and-human-health>.
We all have been sick at least at one point during our lives, it is a pretty common thing. Thankfully for us, we have the medicine and vaccines to fight this awful deceases. For people on the industrialization era, this wasn’t the case. Deceases and plagues have been a part of all our history, but during the industrial revolution, something changed. Our exposure to new chemicals that where now on our surrounding gave us an increase in the number of cases with certain deceases, this are some of the deceases that affected people on the industrialization era.
Cholera is a preventable, acute diarrheal disease that leads to severe dehydration due to a massive loss of bodily fluids that can lead to sunken eyes, blue-grey skin and eventually death. 80% of cholera cases today can be prevented by the ingestion of rehydration salts. In the early nineteenth century the disease was thought to have been transmitted by a miasma or “bad air,” but we now know that the disease is caused by the strand of bacterium called Vibrio cholerae, or simply V. Cholera. This bacterium flourishes in warm water and is transmitted through intake of contaminated food and water. The bacterium can turn into cholera as quickly as two hours which, according to WHO, “enhances the potentially explosive pattern of outbreaks.” This disease has always been present in our world but with industrialization the cut of trees and the accumulation of stained water with colorants, and trash, there is less and less clean water to drink and many don’t have any option than to drink unsafe water.
And when cutting trees, pools of warm standing water with lower acidity are left behind where algae can grow thanks to the sun, that brings in more light because of fewer trees. There are also many substances that can cause water pollution and make ideal environments for the malaria mosquito like: insecticides (DDT), chlorine, detergents, heavy coppers, etc. Malaria is introduced to our body through mosquito bites that take the parasite in the saliva to the bloodstream.
Edited by: Marcelo Arias A01193961
Silvia Pons A01193940
Paulina Garza A01194069