DEET Free Insect Repellent: The Healthy Alternative
November 9th, 2009 Posted in Green Living & News
DEET is the abbreviation for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide. Originally developed by the United States Military, DEET is the most active ingredient found in insect repellent.
It specifically protects against mosquito and tick bites, thus why it is so commonly found in a majority of insecticides. However, over the years it has been discovered to have dangerous long and short term effects.
This article will talk about:
Is DEET Good or Bad?
When deciding whether to DEET or not to DEET, take this study into mind. Conducted by Duke University, they discovered the most serious health effects to be the exposure of the chemical to your central nervous system.
An experiment performed on animals exposed to DEET showed that they performed far worse on neurobehavioral tasks than did animals not exposed to DEET. The animals exposed to DEET showed signs of slowed motor functions, disruptive processing skills, and memory dysfunction.
So, would you rather have memory loss or be protected from a bug bite? DEET has been around for more than 50 years and has been one of the most studied repellent ingredients to date.
Today it’s still one of the most widely used active ingredients in repellents worldwide. It is one the most successful means of keeping mosquitoes and other bugs away. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the use of such repellents to help prevent West Nile virus and other diseases carried by mosquitoes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that DEET products can be used for all family members over the age of 2 but, only up to 30% concentration. With all this conflicting information about DEET’s disadvantages and advantages, who do you trust?
Every Person Reacts Differently
Just like any product, in must be used in moderation. Everybody reacts differently, thus you have to take that into consideration how your own body will react to using DEET. A typical application of DEET will be you spraying your exposed body parts, and then bugs being repelled from you as a result.
This experience is what most people expect from applying DEET. However, not everyone is so lucky. In one instance, a 27-year-old applied a repellent with 20% DEET.
He experienced extreme psychological effects from merely applying the DEET one humid afternoon. While fishing, he experienced an altered mental state and extreme numbness. He progressed into auditory hallucinations and severe agitation.
Once he got medical attention, he was sedated and required mechanical ventilation to help him breathe. He was discharged from the hospital 3 days after being admitted with no further symptoms. Thus, there are risks associated with taking DEET in some cases.
EcoSMART: The DEET Free Alternative
At the end of the day it’s up to the consumer to decide whether it’s worth the risk. An alternative to this whole debate is using DEET free insect repellent. Today, there are many effective repellents that don’t have the harsh chemicals, yet perform the same job.
EcoSMART’s organic chemical-free insect repellent works wonders on repelling pests and is completely safe. As the healthy alternative, EcoSMART organic insecticides use octopamine to repel and kill insects, which is an insect’s equivalent to adrenaline.
By blocking these octopamine receptors, it kills insects and repels them from the area where it was sprayed. At the same time, the organic insecticide remains safe to animals and humans who don’t have octopamine receptors.
