Mara Hoplamazian

I floss every day, so I made a point to get PFAS-free floss.

But, you know, I have this older raincoat that works really well.

I only wear it once or twice a year.

It's not PFAS-free, but I haven't gotten rid of it because I felt like the risk tradeoff felt worthwhile to me in that situation.

One scientist I spoke with, Megan Romano at Dartmouth, was sort of talking about how she wears waterproof mascara like twice a year.

But for people who wear it every day, you know, that could be a place to think about making a change to reduce your exposure.

Is there any way to get PFAS out of your body if you've already been consuming them, as most of us have?

Your PFAS levels in your blood will decrease over time if you stop ingesting them.

And U.S.

health officials have said the best approach for reducing your blood levels is to prevent exposure in all the ways we've been talking about.

There is ongoing research about methods for reducing blood levels for people who have really high exposure.

But in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control have said there's no currently approved medical treatment for reducing PFAS in the body.

There is some guidance for doctors on how they might treat patients with higher levels of PFAS exposure.

Like they might prioritize certain kinds of screenings for particular cancers.

They might test thyroid function.

So if a person thinks they could have a high exposure to PFAS, they could discuss it with their doctor.

And in some places, like New Hampshire, insurance companies are actually required to cover the cost of blood testing for PFAS chemicals.

So that's something you could explore if you're interested in figuring out how much of this stuff is actually in your body.

Takeaway three, you can limit your exposure to PFAS in other ways, too.

Consider personal care products and cleaning products in particular.