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Almost every industry is now preoccupied with trying to make their sector and its operations as green and eco-friendly as possible. We already know the various benefits of this, such as limiting climate change and reducing the size of holes in the ozone layer, Well, now even the healthcare industry is getting on board and trying to do everything they can to ensure that the medicines and treatments used for all kinds of illnesses and health conditions are as green as possible. Are you curious to know how they are doing that? Here are a few eco-friendly treatments that are making healthcare greener.
Environmentally Friendly Incentives
First of all, there have now been a lot of environmentally friendly incentives put in place to try and attract pharmaceutical companies to make greener drugs. By using eco-friendly research and discovery techniques, health researchers are laying down the best foundations for environmentally friendly medicines and treatments. But there are also some incentives in place to persuade patients to choose the greener option for their treatment, such as longer treatment courses for eco-friendly medicines.
Accidentally Green Drugs
Sometimes, researchers and developers don’t even realize that the drug they have developed is green. One example is glufosfamide, which is regularly used to treat pancreatic disorders. It just so happens that this drug is very biodegradable. So, most healthcare professionals are trying to treat as many patients as possible with these accidentally green medicines.
Gene Editing
Gene editing is another modern treatment method that just so happens to be environmentally friendly. It just involves doctors changing the makeup of a gene in the patient. This is an effective treatment for many long-term illnesses, such as HIV. Not only that, though, but it is also a great way to prevent some hereditary conditions that might need to be treated with drugs that aren’t especially eco-friendly.
Biodegradable Drugs
It is now more important than ever that pharmaceutical companies start to develop biodegradable drugs too. This means that they are quick to break up in the environment after being disposed and have minimum lasting effect on the environment itself and its plant life and wildlife. In fact, when patients have a choice of treatment and medicine, they are often told each possible drug’s biodegradability so that they can use the environmentally friendliness of their options to help weigh up their choice.
Lower Dosages
Another way doctors are trying to make their treatments as environmentally friendly as possible is to offer lower dosages whenever possible. This limits the amount of drugs that aren’t so easy to biodegrade getting out into the atmosphere and environment. Of course, this isn’t always possible as some health conditions require high doses of certain drugs that are not considered green. Thankfully, though, there is continued research into this field to try and come up with some usable developments in the near future.
So, there are quite a few eco-friendly treatments and medicines available for a variety of illnesses and health conditions. And, thankfully, a lot more are being researched and developed as I type!
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