Exposure: environmental medicine considerations before measurements
Behrends, H.B.
Zeitschrift für Arztliche Fortbildung und Qualitatssicherung 91(1): 51-57
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 1431-7621 PMID: 9221206 Document Number: 474186
Questions about the environmental impact on health result from the citizen's own perception, the information about exposure or from not yet explained diseases. They are usually related to staying indoor since one is there most frequently. To reach an immediate solution of such a conjecture, some people make use of measuring institutes. Unfortunately, medical advice is often requested afterwards when the inquiry is more difficult than expected. It makes more sense to consult a physician before the measurement. This article deals with environmental consulting for a suspected indoor pollution. It encourages considerations to make before a measurement to assign it a correct meaning in the context of medical diagnostics-even making it unnecessary. First thoughts are devoted to the medical view of environmental medicine since it mainly determines the access to the problem and the patient, and the patient himself. By structuring into the three categories PERSON, TIME, and LOCATION, the access to the complex question of indoor pollution may be simplified and "thinking of it" supported. In preparation for the visit of the patient's residence, the living conditions and the tenant's behaviour are examined. This structure is presented as a summary at the end of the article.