January 1, Woman becomes first person diagnosed as suffering from ‘climate change’

Kyle Merritt, an emergency room doctor in Nelson, British Columbia, diagnosed an elderly woman suffering from “climate change” after heatwaves and poor air quality brought on acute breathing problems.

“If we’re not looking at the underlying cause, and we’re just treating the symptoms, we’re just gonna keep falling further and further behind,” Merritt said.

Merritt diagnosed the patient, who is in her 70s, shortly after a heatwave in June sent temperatures soaring past 121 degrees Fahrenheit.

This summer, Canada experienced record-breaking heat, which coroner reports say killed over 500 people in British Colombia alone.

“She has diabetes. She has some heart failure…She lives in a trailer, no air conditioning,” Merritt said. “All of her health problems have all been worsened. And she’s really struggling to stay hydrated.”

“I don’t think people realize the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on human health,” Merritt said. “Working with patients directly, we are actually starting to see the health effects of climate change now. It’s not just something that is going to happen in the future.”

Source:

B.C. doctor clinically diagnoses patient as suffering from ‘climate change’