What Lingers when Smoke Clears- Longterm effects of wildfire smoke with Prof Migliaccio

I am joined today by Professor Christopher Migliaccio, who is a researcher and professor at the University of Montana Center for Environmental Health Sciences. He studies the way the immune system of the lung interacts with environmental exposures. He has studied the impact of wildfire smoke on our health and published a study that is useful to understanding the potential impact of short term, high levels of exposure. We discuss the impact of the heavy smoke that affected Seeley Lakes, Montana in 2017 and what the long-term effect on that community was. We discuss influenza rates in the year following as well as impact on lung function. 

What can you do?

1- Make sure you have a plan for indoor air quality- remember fire and smoke season will come again; make sure you have a place in your home at least where you can breathe healthy air. See earlier post on indoor air quality prior and listen to the episode with Professor Gall for more information.

2- Get your flu shot- this is always a good idea, but increased flu burden was seen in the year following the severe smoke exposure in Seeley Lake.

3- Donate to your local food bank!

4- Donate to those working for healthier air and helping those with lung disease. Consider a donation to the Air Health Our Health fundraiser for the ALA- link here!

5- Spread the word about health air by being a billboard! Check out the Air Health Our Health shop for options.

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Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org.

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