Dangers of deet

Insect Repellent Myths Revealed:
Which Insect Repellants Really Work and Which are Toxic?
by www.SixWise.com

Getting eaten alive by mosquitoes or invaded by a swarm of ants or flies are among the fastest ways to break up your summer picnics, barbeques and outdoor gatherings. Unfortunately, they’re par for the course at this time of year.

Theories abound about natural and not-so-natural ways to keep bugs from interfering with your outdoor festivities, but which ones really work? Rather than making your friends and family act as guinea pigs at your next barbeque, why not read through what the research says first? This way you’ll be armed with an arsenal of safe and effective insect repellants to keep the bugs away while your family plays!

The Dangerously Effective Repellent You Should Avoid Like the Plague

Insect Repellents that contain DEET make up the lion share of the market. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about one-third of the U.S. population uses DEET-containing products every year.

Their popularity is likely due to the fact that they do work very well at killing insects, but at what expense to your health? You should know that although the EPA maintains that “normal use of DEET does not present a health concern to the general population,” this chemical is a known neurotoxin.

Studies conducted at Duke University have found that using DEET frequently or for extended periods may damage your brain cells, resulting in:

• Memory loss
• Headache
• Weakness and fatigue
• Muscle and joint pain
• Tremors
• Shortness of breath

Further, the EPA has based their safety studies on brief exposures to DEET. They state, “Human exposure is expected to be brief, and long-term exposure is not expected.”

What, you may be wondering, then happens to the family that uses DEET over an extended period of time? Studies have shown that when used in high amounts, or for long periods of time, DEET is far from safe.

According to research by Mohamed Abou-Dania, a professor at Duke University, while lab rats had no reaction to DEET when it was used for 30 days, after 60 days their brain cells started to die. This chemical has also been shown to cause nervous-system damage, including:

• Insomnia
• Mood changes
• Disorientation and clumsiness when walking
• Seizures
• Coma
• Even death

Further, groundbreaking new research that came out last year revealed that DEET is, in fact, toxic to the central nervous system. Writing in the journal BMC Biology, the French researchers wrote, “We’ve found that deet is not simply a behavior-modifying chemical but also inhibits the activity of a key central nervous system enzyme, acetycholinesterase, in both insects and mammals.” They continue:

“Deet is commonly used in combination with insecticides and we show that deet has the capacity to strengthen the toxicity of carbamates, a class of insecticides known to block acetylcholinesterase.

These findings question the safety of deet, particularly in combination with other chemicals, and they highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the development of safer insect repellents for use in public health.“

Also, as soon as you come inside and wash DEET from your skin and clothing (something the EPA recommends you do right away), that DEET gets washed down the drain, and as a result is now showing up in rivers, lakes and also your drinking water