If It Melts Plastics…

DEET sprays can melt plastic bags and fishing lines. Does that make you wonder what it can do to you?

Please don’t use DEET!

Duke University Medical Center pharmacologist Mohamed Abou-Donia spent 30 years researching the effects of pesticides.

He discovered that prolonged exposure to DEET can impair cell function in parts of your brain – demonstrated in the lab by death and behavioral changes in rats with frequent or prolonged use.ⁱ

When these rats had their skin treated with the average human dosage equivalent (40 mg/kg body weight) of DEET, they performed far worse than control rats on physical tests requiring muscle control, strength, and coordination.ⁱⁱ

This is consistent with reports of symptoms after military use of DEET in the Persian Gulf War.

Exposure causes neurons to die in several parts of your brainⁱⁱⁱ --  including areas areas that control muscle movement, memory, concentration and learning. Abou-Donia says rats given small doses of DEET for 60 days had a harder time accomplishing even the easiest tasks, things as simple as walking.

Heavy exposure to DEET and other insecticides can cause eye and skin irritation, memory loss, headaches, weakness, fatigue, muscle/joint pain, nausea, tremors and shortness of breath. Symptoms can appear months or even years after use.

Abou-Donia believes that although short-term exposure to DEET might not be harmful, he warns against ever using any product with more than a 30 percent concentration. To me, even that seems a dangerous and risky amount to use.

But wait! It gets worse…

Worse Than DEET

“We found that the combined exposure to DEET and other chemicals is more dangerous than just DEET alone,” says Abou-Donia.

Exposure causes neurons to die in several parts of your brain^iv -- including areas that control muscle movement, memory, concentration and learning. Abou-Donia says rats given small doses of DEET for 60 days had a harder time accomplishing even the easiest tasks, things as simple as walking.

Insecticides aren’t the only problem though. Skin care products containing various chemicals can put you at increased risk of chemical contamination with DEET. Products you use on a daily basis, like deodorants, soaps, make-up and sunscreens (except Natural Sunscreen), when combined with DEET, create greater exposure than DEET alone.

Medications, both prescription and over the counter, can also react with DEET and increase your risk of problems.

Long-term and regular use of DEET – especially combined with these other chemicals or medications – can cause brain deficiencies in vulnerable groups, particularly children.^v

Children are more susceptible than adults to subtle brain changes caused by chemicals in their environment, because their skin more readily absorbs them. Their still-developing nervous systems are potentially more affected.^vi  

Never, ever, ever use any DEET-containing product on infants! And be very hesitant to use it on anyone who you care about – including yourself.

Many Potential Hazards Lurk in Commercial Bug Sprays

Other potential hazards can lurk in commercial bug sprays, such as the chemical permethrin. It’s part the synthetic pyrethroid family, all of which are neurotoxins.

Other Potential Hazards that Lurk in Commercial Bug Sprays

At relatively high doses, its effects are known to include tremors, loss of coordination, elevated body temperature, aggressive behavior, and learning disruption.^vii Even at sub-lethal doses it can cause aggressive behavior, disruption of eating habits, and agitation.^viii Lab results suggest that it is more dangerous for children than adults^ix

The Environmental Protection Agency labeled it as a carcinogen because it causes lung tumors in female mice and liver tumors in mice of both sexes. It’s also implicated in chromosome abnormalities in human and hamster cells, and hinders immune function.

But that’s not all. It causes environmental damage too.

Permethrin is toxic to honeybees and other beneficial insects, fish, crayfish, and shrimp. It causes deformities in tadpoles and reduces the number of oxygen-carrying cells in the blood of birds. Unfortunately it’s found in streams and rivers throughout the United States.

I’m sure you can agree that using sprays containing permethrin is not only bad for you, but bad for the environment!

Then there’s S.D. alcohol, used as an anti-bacterial agent, denatured by toxic solvents such as acetone, turpentine and benzene which make it poisonous in moderate to large amounts. Ingestion may cause nausea, vomiting, impaired perception, stupor, coma and death.

And that’s just for starters…

Menaces Without Names

Oh … and have you heard about ‘inert ingredients’?

Product containers tell you that it contains a certain percentage of inert ingredients. Two popular commercial insect repellent brands have unspecified inert ingredient levels of 68% and 77%.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know for sure what ‘inert’ includes, since companies choose not disclose it on their labels or to the public. Care to speculate?

Turns out there’s a much better alternative for you and your loved ones … Because it really doesn’t have to be a choice of either mosquitoes or poisons.  You can be rid of both!

Add A Comment