AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — Talking to your doctor can be scary, especially in the evolving PFAS health situation happening in the West Plains area.
On Monday night, a few dozen people filled the seats of the Hub in Airway Heights to try to get a better understanding of what to do.
The night's meeting, hosted by the West Plains Water Coalition, featured guest speakers Gail O'Neal, a nurse with more than four decades of experience, and Dr. Bob Lutz. Lutz served as the Spokane Regional Health District officer during the COVID pandemic.
Some of their recommendations included getting a blood test done if exposed to PFAS to try to figure out a base line.
KREM 2 spoke to Coalition Board Member Nick Scharff, who found out just before Monday night's meeting his most recent blood test results showed concerning levels of PFAS.
"I gotta have a positive outlook on it until I know more about it," Scharff said. "It's been an emotional roller coaster, to say the least, to get the testing done."
"I think it's a growing concern," Lutz said. "And I think we're still learning a lot. I think we have a growing body of evidence to, you know, to support the idea that there are associations between PFAS exposure and a number of health related issues."
Other advice given at the meeting included writing questions down ahead of doctor appointments, being honest with concerns, being assertive and bringing in family members as advocates.
Another piece of advice Dr. Lutz gave was to limit exposure as much as possible.
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