Re: [pct-l] Deet Info Studies Page

[Brick Robbins <brick@fastpack.com>]

At 02:59 AM 11/03/1999 -0500, Montedodge@aol.com wrote:
>Anyone who is interested in studies "by Doctors " on the affects of DEET, can 
>go to the Cornell University Web page by just typing in "DEET" on your 
>browser. 

A page at the Cornell site has a summary of the research.
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/insect-mite/ddt-famphur/deet/deet-background-info.html

Monte, I don't think things are as bad as you are seeing them.

In a nutshell:
Deet has been shown to sometimes cause rashes and skin irritation in sensitive skin and mucous membranes when used in high concentration for long periods of time, including and numb or burning sensations of the lips. Sometimes this rash is bad enough to cause scarring. If you get a rash, stop using DEET.

There is one case on record of a single dose of DEET causing an anaphylactic reaction. (how many folks die of bee stings each year? Do you carry an epi-pen?)

There have been SIX documented cases (Repeat: SIX since 1961 - with 50-100 million Americans a year using DEET ) of adverse reactions (toxic encephalopathy) in children from DEET use. The  first reported case involved a 3.5 year old girl whose body, bedclothes and bedding were sprayed each night for two weeks. One child was reported to be heterozygous for ornithine carbamoyl transferase deficiency (a sex linked enzyme deficiency which may produce effects similar to those reported above) and it has been hypothesized that children with this enzyme disorder may be at greater risk of adverse reactions to DEET.

Questionnaire results indicate that Everglades National Park employees having extensive DEET exposure were more likely to have insomnia, mood disturbances and impaired cognitive function than were lesser exposed co-workers. How much DEET do you think Park employees in the Everglades use? Much more than the average PCT hiker, I bet.

http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/carbaryl-dicrotophos/deet-ext.html
reports more of the same, but it goes into animal effects. You can INJECT rabbits with DEET (Five doses at the rate of 25 mg/kg/day) and it doesn't kill them. It does cause rashes if you put it on their skin in high concentration for a long time, and if you put it in their eyes they get tearing, conjunctivitis, pus and clouding. (poor rabbits...)

That is about it. I think if you did a case study of Advil you would find worse problems. I personally know of about 10 endurance athlete that have been hospitalized in the last 5 years with kidney failure due to overuse of ibuprofin in endurance events. It is not 100% safe either.

DEET is definitely safer than peanuts.

Monte, if you can point me at research other than the studies cited in the website above, I will gladly reconsider, but I just can't find any. All the general warnings I've found all point back the same studies cited in that summary.

-Brick
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