Vector-Borne Diseases on the Rise: Protect Yourself With EWG’s Guide to Bug Repellents (1 Viewer)

[therium]

(Hmm. Could this be a way to get people to use more repellents which might harm us? The first few paragraphs.)

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Summer is the season for enjoying the outdoors, but as cases of diseases from mosquitoes, ticks and flea bites continue to rise, Americans must remain vigilant about protecting themselves by using an appropriate and effective bug repellent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of bug-borne diseases tripled in the U.S. between 2004 and 2016, mostly from mosquito and tick bites. Lyme disease and West Nile virus continue to plague large swaths of the nation: In 2016 alone, more than 36,000 cases of Lyme disease and more than 2,000 cases of West Nile were reported. The agency also reported that nine new vector-borne diseases were reported in the U.S. during that period, including tick-borne Heartland and Bourbon viruses.

Bug repellents can provide protection, but how do you choose the right one? The EWG Guide to Bug Repellents can help.

https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2019/07/vector-borne-diseases-rise-protect-yourself-ewg-s-guide-bug-repellents

 

[Linda]

I get notices from EWG and saw this one a few days ago. Wow, I was surprised that it came from the Environmental Working Group. They list Deet and another chemical from Bayer as the better options. Uh, no thanks. Then they go on to say that essential oils have little to no effect.

From my personal experience (and I live in a place with all kinds of bugs), essential oils work quite well. There is a spray with mostly cedar oil that you attach to a hose for a yard spray that works great for several hours - perfect if you are having guests over. As I work outdoors, keeping mosquitoes etc. away is important, and I've had great luck with blends of essential oils.

One thing the study did note was that some essential oils may contain pollutants that irritate the skin, which is more a comment on the quality of the oil. However, the report does not make this distinction.

Overall, I was quite disappointed with the article and found it misleading.

 

[Lila]

I, too, have had great luck with essential oil repellants; better than I expected. They are not perfect, but then I have never found any DEET or other commercial repellants to be perfect either. The essential oil ones work at least as well from my persepctive, smell far less noxious and I don't mind if I inhale a bit or get it on an open scratch, for example.
DEET is known to be a potential cause of seizures in little ones; it does require quite a bit of DEET to do this and it is relatively rare; it does happen. That just makes it a clear case of 'No, thanks to the DEET. Really, no thanks.' to me.

The other thing that comes to mind for me is that I grew up never hearing of the West Nile Virus, Heartland Virus, Zika Virus etc, yet here they are. Are they new? Or are we naming viruses that have always been here and getting better at identifying them and (I see this as a good thing) trying to do something about them.

Really glad you brought up this article, therium. I come to a different conclusion on how to deal with it. That's cool. That's life.
Brilliant pickup, therium
Good to know about these things; still careful and cautious about how I react. Perhaps that's growing older speaking for me lol!

 

[Lila]

Oh, and I always have a skeptical eye to different methods folks come up with to not be outdoors and the reasons they tell me I shouldn't partake the landscapes that give me more joy and health than any other.
It's an old story for me; people warning me of the dangers of the outdoors. These are real and I thank them for the warnings. Then I deal with them the way I know best, enjoying as much outdoor time as I can!