Russian writer Tsarfis PG in his book ‘Nature and Health: Treatment and Rehabilitation by Natural Factors’ published in 1985 by Mir Publishers says that the essence of treatment and rehabilitation of patients depend much on local environmental factors.
However, the modern concepts of disease and the principles of applying physical factors for therapeutic, prophylactic and rehabilitation purpose do not pay much importance to the climatic considerations and other factors.
Prophylactic treatment means a treatment for increasing the immunity in the body of an organism to resist diseases. Rehabilitation implies the restoration of previous or original condition. There are different types of therapies or therapeutic treatments for various diseases.
The therapeutic rehabilitation practices on various ways through natural and transformed factors are explained in TSarfis’ book, which was translated into English in 1985.
It is extremely difficult to give an exhaustive and all-embracing definition of concepts such as health and diseases. Dictionary meaning of health implies sound physical and mental condition. But according to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is a condition of complete physical, spiritual and social well- being and not merely an absence of diseases and physical defects. Besides this, health may be defined as state of an organism in which all its functions and manifestations of vital activities are in harmonious and dynamic interactions with the environment. Similarly, the normal health condition is determined on the basis of a number of constants established by anthropometric, clinical, physiological, biochemical and other research.
If the definition of the WHO is sincerely looked open, it will be seen that not only the physical organism should be fit, but man should be spiritually sound. Spiritualism is a philosophical doctrine, which should be a guiding principle of every human being.
Man is a social animal and hence socializing forms an important factor in his life. Man should contribute for the well being of the society. The relationship of individual with society should be harmonious and dynamic. The environment is part and partial of the society. If the environment is not congenial, the society will go awry and cannot exist.
The environment in the Indian society is getting vitiated by several factors. The entire life sustaining environment is getting increasingly polluted as a result of which it becomes difficult for all kinds of animals to survive. Man is the most intelligent animal in the world. But at the same time, this creature has been largely behind destruction of the creation itself.
Communist leader Karl Marx rightly says that disease restrains freedom of life. Similarly environmental pollution creates health hazards, which also retrains freedom of life. Pollution of nature and natural resources like water, air and earth is done by man alone but unfortunately the entire living organism is paying a price for it.
If we take the case of Talcher- Angul industrial hub, it will be seen that the people living there are suffering from skin, eye and respiratory diseases, including the diseases in the digestive systems. These people are mainly exposed to air and water pollution due to excavation and transportation of coal and industrial emission. The air is filled in with dust, fly ash, carbon dioxide and other suspended particulates.
like the highly polluted Talcher- Angul- Kaniha belt, there are other areas like Paradip port, Rourkela, Rajgangpur, Koida, Keonjhar, Sukinda and Kalinganagar, which have already got a dubious distinction for alarming level of pollution. Marx had said that the industries and mining restrain freedom of life by creating social and health hazards. SP Botkin, one of the founders of Russian clinical medicine, made very valuable contribution to the development of theoretical conceptions of disease and pathogenesis. He was of the opinion that core of diseases is formed by a reaction of the organism to detrimental influences of the environment. The most vital functions of the body of an organism are disturbed and reduce the capability of labour.
let us examine the case of epidemic dengue which is of African origin and now spreading very intensively in India and in several States including Odisha. In Odisha a majority of dengue cases are referred to the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack. Mostly the polluted industrial belts like Talcher, Angul and Jajpur report maximum number of cases. Dengue is an acute viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes characterized by headache, fever, pains in the joints and skin rash. So far no medicine has been invented to cure it. The whole of Jajpur district is a coastal tract and almost a swampy land. Hence it is a breeding ground for the mosquitoes. Generally, the economically poor people are destined to live amid unhealthy conditions without any preventive and protective measures.
No river in the State is now pollution-free. Due to industrial activities and unrestrained release of effluents into the rivers and streams, they are getting highly polluted. Mahanadi, Brahmani Subarnrekha. Budhabalanga etc are the most polluted in the State. When the soil, air and water are polluted, it is natural that the society will be disease ridden and there would be widespread pain and suffering.
Added to this is the fact that the world is now suffering from a spiritual bankruptcy. Moral values are disintegrating. Man is developing new-fangled ideas and notions of living but while doing it he is not able to live in peace. Conflict, confusion and contradiction mark the modern life in which material development is no doubt taking place but it is far short of order and tranquility.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)