DEET causes birth defects

Nah, I think there are some "christian values" floating around amongst the BPL staff….

mmmmmm DEET. Nasty stuff. I sell outdoor clothing for a living. Selling Permethrin treated clothes is always interesting. I'm fairly upfront that the "benefit" is that it's treated with chemicals. Not a huge selling point in progressive bay area.

DEET is a toluene derivative. Gestational exposure to organic solvents is generally not considered a good thing.

Do any of you do the permethrin soak for buggy trips? It is amazing to watch those ticks die on contact, but wonder what it does to the human!

Interviewing less than 1000 "mums" does not yield a solid scientific finding; it identifies something that needs additional research.

The study didn't even focus in on what type of insect repellent the "mums" used. Naming DEET in the title is as accurate as naming Colgate.

Interesting article. Interesting research.

acronym 12/1/2009 10:33 AM

500 is a small number, i agree, more needs to be done.

Here is another link, without the naughty word: http://tinyurl.com/yzweeqj

Yes, more research has to be done. We have to be careful when these initial studies are done. I remember the initial aluminum study, which was since refuted once a bigger study was done. Unfortunately, lots of people still don't trust aluminum, based on the initial study.

As for me, I don't trust DEET, even though they have done a lot of studies and found nothing conclusive. It's just my gut feeling (and the fact that it is sometimes very difficult to test these things). I trust Permethrin's even less. Neurotoxins scare the sh** out of me. Of course, each person has to make up their own mind, but as for me, I prefer netting. Just to show how inconsistent I am, I still use my "bad" Nalgene bottles in the winter (I'm inconsistent and cheap).

I don't in most cases use bug repellent. Never have liked it – more becuase it causes me to itch like crazy and I hate how it eats fabrics.

Having said that…if I lived in an area with Malaria my thoughts might be much different. Out here bugs are bad maybe for 3 weeks a year.

My son doesn't wear it either. They don't much have a taste for him.

I am pregnant but hey, it is late fall here. Not many bugs out when it is freezing…lol!

Colagte causes penile defects ?!?!?

Whoa.

I gotta go check on something…

:0)

The stats in that article are unimpressive. An 81% increase in a defect that normally only affects 1-2 males in 500 means there was probably one extra case in the DEET exposed group. I can't see how that would be even close to statistically significant.

From previous research:

Women are often concerned about using DEET during pregnancy, but the available data on toxic effects in humans and animals are reassuring. An animal study published in 1994 reported no adverse effects in the offspring of rats and rabbits force fed different concentrations of DEET at different times of gestation, with one exception. The highest DEET dose (325 mg/kg daily), by orders of magnitude higher than the normal human dose, resulted in maternal toxic effects and low birth weights of offspring. There was no evidence of fetal toxic effects or malformations in the offspring of exposed animals, regardless of the dose used. No observations on behaviour or neurologic development were reported.
The first study of the safety of DEET when used regularly during the second and third trimesters was a randomized, double-blind trial involving 897 pregnant women in Thailand who continuously applied therapeutic doses of DEET topically (1.7 g/d) — a dose similar to that recommended to prevent malaria17 — or placebo to prevent malaria. The DEET group received a median cumulative dose of 214.2 g. DEET levels were measured in cord blood samples in a subgroup of 50 women; it was detected in 4 (8%), which provides evidence that the chemical crosses the placenta. In the group as a whole, no adverse neurological, gastrointestinal or dermatological effects were observed in the women exposed to DEET, and no adverse effects on survival or growth and development at birth and at 1 year of age were detected in the babies whose mothers used DEET.
We found no human studies of exposure to DEET in the first trimester. However, the very high dose administered orally in the animal study suggests that DEET is safe when used as recommended. The CDC has advised that pregnant women take precautions to reduce their risk of West Nile Virus infection and other arboviral infections by avoiding mosquito bites and using protective clothing and DEET-based repellents. There is no evidence that the use of DEET by pregnant or lactating women poses a health hazard to unborn babies or children who are breast-feeding.

"Colgate causes penile defects ?!?!?"

Good thing I confine my brushing to my teeth……

DON'T put DEET or Colgate on your Naughty Bits – LOL

"DON'T put DEET or Colgate on your Naughty Bits -"

Yeah, be considerate of your partner. ;}

I know thru-hikers this past summer that resorted to using DEET on their behinds when hiking through the High Sierra in prime bug season to protect themselves when using the bushes. It was mostly the women, but I know a few guys who thought it was a good idea after hearing about it.

I honestly rarely use it. But i always carry it in the warm/humid season. Being really in a low elevation/wet area is mosquito territory. I also carry a small headnet, i usually manage with this alone just fine as long as im moving at a good pace. If its real bad: sweaty, muggy, buggy, then i use the super DEET 100% i think.