Tear Gas and Reproductive Health

Contributor
Written By Lora Shahine, MD

Thank you KUOW and Liz Brazile for the opportunity to discuss the potential impact of tear gas on reproductive health. Social media has been buzzing with people reporting irregular menstrual cycles after exposure to chemicals used for crowd control at protests (often called tear gas). Many of these chemicals are banned for use in international warfare but allowed to be used domestically. Short term effects like watery eyes, nasal inflammation, difficulty breathing are reported but longterm impact (especially with multiple exposures in sometimes nightly protests) are not well known.

Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’

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