Health Wanted: Dairy

The Episode

This week’s episode of Health Wanted has it all: Covert influencer sponsored content! Taco Bell! School lunches! The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans! And it all comes back to dairy. 

Join us as we take a look at the udder-ly fascinating history of how milk became the essential drink for kids…and if it’s really as healthy as advertisers might have you believe.

Listen now

The Listener Questions

How can I be prepared to help myself and people around me if I am at a protest and pepper spray or tear gas are used?

This is a really important question. Non-violent protest is a cornerstone of the rights of Americans, but unfortunately some crowd control tactics, although known as “less than lethal,” can still cause harm. Knowing how to reduce your risk of injury is important.

Chemical irritants like tear gas or pepper spray are often used when attempting to control or disperse crowds and there are some key differences between the two.

Tear gas comes in the form of canisters that contain a catalyst and a powder that turns into a fine spray when ignited. The powder attaches to any moisture it can find, including sweat, tears, makeup, and airways, sending pain signals to the brain. It can cause pain, coughing, eye irritation, and shortness of breath. 

• Try to stay as calm as you can. You don’t want to start breathing heavily and brining more of the chemical into your lungs.
• Tear gas is heavy, so the closer you are to the ground, the more concentrated the gas will be. Try to get to higher ground and help anyone up who may have fallen down, if you’re able to.
• Repeatedly rinse your eyes with cool water from a water bottle, drinking fountain, or sink. If you think theres a chance you might be exposed to chemical irritants you should avoid wearing contact lenses, otherwise get them out of your eyes as quickly as possible and throw them away.
• Remember that tear gas canisters use combustion, so they will be very hot and you should not attempt to touch them with your bare hands.

Pepper spray is a highly concentrated pepper oil that can irritate the skin, eyes, and airways.

• Milk might feel nice for a minute if you use it, but it’s much better to rinse the eyes with water, saline solution, or diluted, tear-free baby shampoo to break up the oils.
• Try to avoid rubbing your eyes, which will make it worse.

Take off any clothes or shoes that have chemical irritants on them. It’s safest to cut shirts off to avoid pulling them over your head, but if that’s not possible wear eye and respiratory protection as you take them off. It’s safest to throw contaminated clothes away. If that isn’t possible, hang them in a well ventilated area for 48 hours or in a sealed bag before washing. And don’t wash them with other clothes. It might take multiple washes to get rid of everything, and tear gas can stay active for up to five days.

You should rinse your body in cool water for 20 minutes. Take care not to get water in your eyes when washing your hair, and use unscented dish soap to break up the oils from pepper spray.

Monitor your symptoms and seek medical care if they don’t resolve within a few hours. Exposure to chemical irritants can make a person more susceptible to respiratory illness in the weeks after exposure, so continue to monitor symptoms after you’ve recovered.

As you support your community, remember the saying “plan for the worst but hope for the best.”

If you are attending a protest you might consider bringing shatter proof eye protection and respiratory protection in case things go sideways and you need to reduce the risk of physical harm.
 

Catch all the listener questions and Laurel’s answers on the full episode of Health Wanted by:

• Streaming at wabe.org or the WABE app
• Subscribing on Apple or Spotify
• Watching on WABE's YouTube channel