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Re: [pct-l] Deet Info



At 11:25 AM 11/02/1999 -0500, Montedodge@aol.com wrote:
>  We need to be aware of other harmful chemicals we place on our 
>skin. Just because the Army has used DEET since 1956 doesn't make it safe. ( 
>does agent orange or gulf syndrome ring a bell )

Agent orange hasn't been in wide spread use by the general population since 1961 like DEET has, so that is not a valid comparison. Just because the Army invented DEET doesn't automatically make it bad.

As far as Gulf War Syndrome goes, I'll be the first to say that the men and women of our armed forces, especially those who have heard shots fired in anger, can NEVER receive enough support from us civilians. Then I suggest you read the article about Gulf War Sydnrome at 
http://www.healthcentral.com/news/newsfulltext.cfm?id=9082  

There are lots of things that we put in our bodies that are "harmful." Did you know that  byproducts of water chlorination  (tri-halo methanes) are carcinogenic? However, the alternative is infectious pathogens in our water that would kill thousands more people than will die of cancer from the tri-halo methanes. Perfect world? - No. All decisions in life are a trade off.

>  Hikers are welcome to mix this with their tange if they wish, I'm just stating what I read and thought 
>fellow hikers might be interested.

More information is always good. I support your effort to post your views to the list. If they think they are invalid, I support any list members efforts to refute them with better evidence.

I'm not arguing that DEET is 100% safe. DEET may cause problems. So do mosquito bites. There is a tradeoff there somewhere, and each person should make their own decision based on the best information available.

I do object to the simple statement "Deet kills" without some sort of supporting evidence. There are documented cases of DEET causing problems in children, but not much evidence for it causing problems in adults. It is definitely safer than peanuts.

Brick
Posting as List member, not List admin

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