The Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine (COEM) is educating patients about the benefits of Environmental Medicine.
In an interview during the Low Country Live segment on ABC 4, Board Certified Environmental Medicine expert Dr. Weirs from COEM discussed the center’s approach to healing its patients. Dr. Weirs describes Environmental Medicine, and the associated field of Occupational Medicine, as a branch of medicine that focuses on the interactions between the environment and human health.
Environmental Medicine involves the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illnesses and health conditions that are caused or influenced by environmental factors. It recognizes that many health problems are the result of exposure to environmental toxins, pollutants, and other hazardous substances, both indoors and outdoors. These may include chemicals, heavy metals, radiation, air pollution, water pollution, mold, and mycotoxins, among others.
During the interview, Dr. Weirs explains the relationship between an individual’s health and their environment by saying, “For any given health condition or complaint that we are looking at, we want to find out its root cause. We believe that everything that happens to us is due to our own physiology and the impact of the environment. We have a slang term to describe the effect the environment has on us - genetics loads the gun and the environment pulls the trigger. For example, just because you have a gene fora particular type of cancer, doesn’t mean that you are going to develop that condition. It might mean that you have to be very careful about your diet and lifestyle. It is the combination of both, your body’s unique genetics and the environment you live in, that ultimately determines your health.”
Environmental medicine practitioners use a holistic approach to patient care, considering a patient's allergic, toxic, infectious, and emotional loads. Important factors such as diet, lifestyle, genetics, hormones, and environmental exposures are reviewed when assessing and treating patients. The goal is to identify and reduce environmental exposures that may be contributing to a patient's health problems and bring them back to health through treatments that aid the body in removing toxins.
“It’s like detective work,” Dr. Weirs says. “One of the things we focus on is what disease a person has and when he or she gets it. A patient might say, “I went on vacation to Colorado to go skiing and I felt wonderful. My sinusitis went away and I could breathe freely. Now that I have come back home, all of a sudden, I’m bad again.” That says to us, “All right, now we are on to something. There is something unique to this moist and humid atmosphere that is triggering the patient’s conditions.” We want to ask what is at the root cause, why is this happening, and what can we look into to figure out what the problem is.”
The team at COEM, which was founded by Dr. Allan D. Lieberman in 1978, and which now consists of Dr. William J. Weirs and Dr. Stephen P. Elliott, has over 45 years of experience in occupational, environmental, and functional medicine.
Using a simple analogy, Dr. Weirs convinces viewers about the real way Environmental Medicine helps patients find solutions to their health problems. He says, “I like the leaky faucet analogy. If you have a leaky faucet in your kitchen, you can mop the floor all you want three times a day. But it is better if you turn the faucet off and then mop the floor. What we are really trying to do is find the underlying cause, fix it, and then use any tool we can to make the problem better.”
A spokesperson for COEM says, 'It is not uncommon for a patient to come here for treatment after exhausting all other options, having seen as many as 14 other providers without success. COEM specializes in look at the entire life and health history of a patient to identify patterns of illness caused by exposure to bacteria, viruses, toxins, allergies and deficiencies in diet and exercise which result in a poor state of health. Using a holistic approach allows COEM to use the best treatment options from traditional and holistic medicine to find a balance that treats symptoms and reduce a patient the optimal health for their specific conditions.
https://youtu.be/O0MVTnC5lLU
Readers can check out the full interview at https://youtu.be/O0MVTnC5lLU. To schedule an appointment, North Charleston residents can contact COEM at (843) 572-1600 from Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 4 PM.
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For more information about Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine, contact the company here:
Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine
843-572-1600
ari@coem.com
7510 NORTH FOREST DR
NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 29420
