Air Health Our Health

Today I am joined by Dr. Fernando Holguin, the Director of the Clinical and Research Asthma Program and the Executive Director of the Colorado School of Public Health’s Latino Research and Policy Center. We discuss the interaction of asthma, obesity and air pollution today, with a particular focus on how it impacts Latino communities in the United States. Patients with asthma who are obese often struggle to get a diagnosis since their trouble breathing is attributed to their weight. Once people are obese, asthma in some can be more challenging to control, and their body may also be more affected by air pollution. Obesity is extremely complex with many inputs, and there is much more we need to learn. Dr. Holguin is working hard on this research, and shares what he has learned with us today. We also discuss what can be done at the individual and community level to improve our health, with a focus on taking manageable steps.  To Do 1- Decrease processed foods in the diet, add more vegetables, fruit and whole grains to the diet.  2- Work for clean air in your home and community. 3-  If you or someone in your family is coughing regularly or has shortness of breath, talk to your doctor about it. A diagnosis is very important! 4- Learn more about asthma risk factors and triggers- see the Twitchy Airways Club section of the website. 5- As always, stop smoking! Click here if you need help to quit. 6- Calculate your BMI here, if it is over 25, you may be overweight. If it is over 30, you may have obesity and be at risk for a more severe impact from air pollution. Talk to your doctor about what steps may be most important for your health. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.

Hoy me acompaña el Dr. Fernando Holguin.  Discutimos la interacción del asma, la obesidad y la contaminación del aire en la actualidad, con un enfoque particular en cómo impacta a las comunidades latinas en los Estados Unidos.  ¡También discutimos lo que se puede hacer a nivel individual y comunitario para mejorar nuestra salud! Que hacer 1- Disminuir los alimentos procesados en la dieta, agregar más verduras, frutas y granos integrales a la dieta. 2- Si usted o alguien de su familia tose regularmente o tiene dificultad para respirar, hable con su médico al respecto.  ¡Un diagnóstico es muy importante! 3- Aprenda más sobre los factores de riesgo y desencadenantes del asma, escuche el Episodio 28 con el Profesor Celedon para obtener más información, ¡especialmente para los padres! 4- ¡Como siempre, deja de fumar!  Haga clic aquí si necesita ayuda para dejar de fumar. 5- Calcula aquí tu IMC, si es superior a 25, es posible que tengas sobrepeso.  Si tiene más de 30, es posible que tenga obesidad y esté en riesgo de sufrir un impacto más severo por la contaminación del aire.  Hable con su médico sobre los pasos que pueden ser más importantes para su salud. 6- Vacúnese contra COVID19 cuando pueda para ayudar a retrasar la propagación y evitar variantes peligrosas y seguir las precauciones de salud.  ¡Disminuir el aislamiento también ayudará con la salud mental! --------------------------------------------- Visite el blog para mas información, o vaya a airhealthourhealth.org. Sigueme y comente en Facebook e Instagram. Grabe su pregunta o comentario en el sitio de Anchor o mandame un e-mail.

You may remember Destiny Aman from the recent episode on the science of vaccines. She’s back to talk about having these conversations from the behavioral science side of things. Destiny Aman runs JPoint Collaborative and has a background in behavioral science working as a risk communication expert and has over 20 years of helping translate science into practical solutions adapting to environmental risks, including in work that has supported FEMA and the CDC. She’s here today to share more about how people think about risk, mistrust of science, and how to reach out about vaccines while maintaining relationships with people we love. 4 Steps Toward More Effective Vaccination Conversations Reflect on and invest in the relationship. Identify common ground, and (importantly) validate that shared common ground. Address barriers, using your own personal story. Make a gracious and respectful exit. To Do: 1- Get your COVID 19 vaccine if you haven’t done so yet. Learn more about the COVID19 vaccines at the American Lung Association, and find where you can get your vaccine here. 2- Reach out to your loved ones about the importance of vaccination- feel free to share the last podcast regarding vaccine science or share what you’ve learned as an equal, especially in how to communicate more effectively. 3- Make a plan for the holidays and be sure you are giving friends and loved ones over a month’s awareness of where your COVID safety lines will be for the holidays and what accommodations for unvaccinated family and friends you may be able to make. 4- Consider a donation to the American Lung Association here, who is trying to help share accurate information about COVID19 vaccination and fund research and advocacy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.

Today I am releasing the first of two podcasts about COVID19 vaccination on the day before World Lung Day 2021.  I talk to two experts in their fields, Dr. Gigi Gronvall PhD and Destiny Aman. Dr. Gronvall studies the immune system and is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and on the editorial board of the journal Health Security.  She is a biosecurity and bioterrorism expert and has served as a member of the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee providing the Secretary of Defense with independent advice and recommendations on reducing risk to the United States, its military forces and allies. Destiny Aman is a behavioral science and risk communications expert running JPoint Collaborative with over 20 years of experience translating science into practical solutions to improve resilience at individual, community, and national levels. Her research has centered on developing and promoting creative adaptations to environmental risks, including natural hazards like wildfires and flooding, and now the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She provides essential help with how best to understand the concerns people have around vaccines and how to best communicate. I found this conversation so helpful, and hope you do too! To Do: 1- Get your COVID 19 vaccine if you haven’t done so yet. Learn more about the COVID19 vaccines at the American Lung Association, and find where you can get your vaccine here. 2- Reach out to your loved ones about the importance of vaccination- feel free to share this podcast or share what you’ve learned, especially in how to communicate more effectively. 3- Learn more about why there may be very legitimate hesitancy about the medical community, vaccines and scientific research by learning about the history of the Tuskegee experiment, Henrietta Lacks, and more. Medical Apartheid is a vital read for all in healthcare. 4- Consider a donation to the American Lung Association here, who is trying to help share accurate information about COVID19 vaccination and fund research and advocacy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram.

Today, I’m providing a summary of the health effects of wildfire smoke. I recorded a webinar in June 2021 on the health effects of wildfire smoke that is available in English and Spanish. I’m providing an expanded podcast version of that summary here today. Topics covered include: What we know and don’t know, vulnerable/sensitive groups, short and long term effects of wildfire smoke and individual characteristics that affect this risk, respirator use, what to do before, during, and after smoke events. In this episode, I reference the ATS standard of 11ug/m3 for PM2.5 exposure. ATS has submitted testimony to the EPA asking the EPA to consider a standard of 8ug/m3 because of adverse health effects even below the 11ug/m3 standard. More information: For more on the cardiac death study, listen to the Season 1 Episode 11 Apocalypse Now For information on clean indoor air, listen to S1 E13 with Prof Elliot Gall. You can also see his post here on how to make a clean air room. For more information on the long-term effects of wildfire smoke, listen to S1 E18 with Prof Chris Migliaccio For more information about outdoor work, listen to S1 E 14 with Prof Alya Khan. Each of those episodes also have links to references and things you can do. To Do: 1- Identify whether you or a loved one are in a sensitive group for particulate matter. 2- Make a plan before wildfire season about the health of you and your family members. If you are going to get a respirator, make sure it is NIOSH certified here or here. 3- Make sure you have a plan for clean air in case of smoke events 4- Donate to Neighbors for Clean Air, or Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, who hosted the webinar Our Health in Wildfire Season 5- Donate to PCUN- working to keep outdoor workers safe 6- Get your COVID19 vaccine if you have not done so, and your booster if you are a member of a recommended group. We are all in this together. Find out more from the American Lung Association here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram.

Back to school with Season Two of Air Health Our Health! I am joined by Dr Paula Olsiewski of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, where she is a pioneering leader in policy and scientific research programs in the microbiology and chemistry of indoor environments. She spent two decades at the Alfred P Sloane foundation leading innovative and multidisciplinary programs partnering with academic, governmental and for-profit stakeholders understanding the chemistry of indoor environments and the microbiology of the built environment. She is recognized as a leading expert in biosecurity and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is chair of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Homeland Security Research Subcommittee and is a member of the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Executive Committee, in addition to serving as a member of the NTI|bio Working Group for Biosecurity Innovation and Risk Reduction Initiative and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in chemistry. She is also the grandmother of 4 young children, and she joins me today to talk details and specifics about how to reduce COVID 19 risk in the classroom. There are actually simple, concrete steps we can all take right now, even in districts with old buildings with poor ventilation. More importantly, the CARES Act has provided funding to ensure that no school is left behind.  To Do: 1- Reach out to your school- Find out about the number of air changes per hour in the room. Ideally it should be 6 or more. Review the full Johns Hopkins report here. 2- Find out if your school has an HVAC system with MERV13 air filters or higher. If not, ask or demand that your school work on obtaining them or put in HEPA filters and make a plan for proper filter maintenance throughout the year. 3- Review filters on CARB here to ensure they are safe. You want mechanical filters to remove particles. Learn more about air filters and HVAC here, and how to size and place portable filters.  4- Be a parental voice for school safety- advocate masking, vaccination, distancing, and testing. Also, remember that investing in clean indoor air in schools and robust air filtration will pay off in wildfire season, for air pollution, and more! Kids learn better in clean air.  5- Get your COVID19 vaccine if you have not done so. Lovingly encourage those around you to do the same. This is the most important step. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.

What a year! Thanks to all of you who have been listening to the Air Health Our Health podcast. In this episode, I share my thoughts on what it has been like to live and work as an ICU and lung doctor this year during COVID19, worry about three young children, and ask your input on thinking ahead to Season Two! To Do 1- Catch up on episodes you missed and please like the podcast, leave a review and share with family and friends to spread the word about the importance of clean air. Consider buying a T-shirt to spread the word "Don't Light Things on Fire..." Proceeds go to American Lung Association. 2- Enjoy your summer, and take a moment of mindfulness and gratitude whenever you are breathing healthy air. We too often take it for granted. 3- If you or someone you love in your life smokes, make this summer the summer you quit or help them break free of Big Tobacco. 4- Send me a message through the site, record your thoughts or a question on the Anchor app, or follow on Instagram or Facebook. 5- Come back for Season Two in the Fall! It will be in this feed, so stay subscribed! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information, go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.

Today I am joined by Ashia Allen, whom I first met when she was critically-ill at Emanuel Hospital with severe asthma. She shares her story growing up in Albina near freeways and construction and what it was like to live with asthma. Ben Duncan joins me as well to discuss the history of working on air pollution concerns in Albina, a formerly red-lined district and the historic heart of the black community. Their stories are powerful reminders of why working to clean up air pollution is so important, and why the cost of inaction is high. Things you can do-  - Listen to other podcast episodes to learn more about the impact of air pollution and redlining on health, and share with your friends and family. - Find out what you can do in your community to decrease air pollution. Reach out to your local county commissioner, city council, and state and national legislators to tell them that cleaning up the air not only saves lives it saves money. For more on that, learn about the ROI on the Clean Air Act here. - Consider a donation to organizations like Neighbors for Clean Air or OPAL Environmental Justice or a group in your community working to clean up the air. Consider it an investment with high returns in terms of lower future healthcare expenditures and higher productivity! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.

Hoy hablo con el Dr. Juan Celedón, profesor de pediatría, medicina, epidemiología y genética humana y Jefe de División de Medicina Pulmonar Pediátrica en Universidad de Pittsburgh y el primer presidente latino de la American Thoracic Society, sobre el asma en la comunidad hispana de EE. UU. Exploramos cómo el aire que respiramos puede afectar nuestro riesgo y el riesgo de nuestros hijos. Escuche para aprender sobre la importancia del aire saludable en el exterior y cómo la exposición al aire en interiores puede afectar a las personas con asma y aumentar el riesgo de asma y más.  También hablamos sobre el impacto de la inmigración, la violencia y la dieta sobre el asma en los niños latinos. Busque podcasts con títulos en español y el logotipo de “Nuestro Aire Nuestra Salud” para ver más episodios en español. Que hacer 1- No fume y deje de fumar si ya ha comenzado; si no es por usted, ¡hágalo por sus hijos! Aprende más aquí. No permita que sus hijos empiecen a fumar cigarrillos electrónicos o vapear. 2- Verifique si hay infestaciones de cucarachas o moho en su hogar y elimínelas. Asegúrese de que no haya cucarachas. Revisa esta lista. (Segundo Dr. Celadón, una mascota puede ser útil si los padres no son alérgicos). 3- Evite vivir cerca una autopista muy transitada o en áreas de alta contaminación del aire si puede. 4- Trabaje por leyes que disminuyan la contaminación del aire y aumenten las áreas en su vecindario con aire limpio para que los niños jueguen al aire libre. 5- La salud mental y el control del estrés es muy importante en general y para el asma en particular.  Trabajar para reducir la exposición de los niños a la violencia.  Considere unirse a organizaciones como Everytown for Gun Safety (sitio web en inglés) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visite el blog para mas información, o vaya a airhealthourhealth.org. Sigueme y comente en Facebook e Instagram. Grabe su pregunta o comentario en el sitio de Anchor o mandame un e-mail.

Dr. Vivek Shandas is a Professor of Climate Adaptation and Founder and Director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research Lab at Portland State University and serves as Chair of the City of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission in addition to other local and national advisory boards. He joins me on the podcast today to discuss his research on everything from trees in human communities, nitrogen dioxide exposure, economic benefit of green spaces and environmental services, as well as the impact of redlining in real estate and development and its impact on health now. Which trees are best at reducing air pollution? How much can they help? How much money and health can we save by planting more trees? How has redlining impacted the trees in our communities, and what can we do to make things better? Listen and learn!  To Do 1- Plant a tree! In the Pacific Northwest, consider volunteering or donating to Friends of Trees! 2- Plant a tree when you search! Use Ecosia when you search on-line! 3- Air quality is local- advocate for cleaner construction standards. Donate to Neighbors for Clean Air. 4- Learn about the history of red-lining and how it impacts health now- see the Mapping Inequality project for more. Good books include the Color of Law and A Terrible Thing to Waste. 5- Listen to podcast episode “Tubman’s Air Troubles” to learn more from an atmospheric chemist about air pollution. Twitchy Airways Club Members 1- Commute on lower pollution routes if you can, avoid busy roads, peak traffic times, etc 2- Advocate for cleaner air for you and your community! 3- Look for green spaces, and encourage more trees in your community. Check out Imperial College London Air App- helps a Londoner find the safest commute for air pollution. Let me know if your city has one, too! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.