In Reply to: Choice Magazine have just done posted by chickchili on Sunday, 8. January 2006 at 13:02 Bali Time:
Hi Chickchili,
Sometimes it's hard to know just what to do for the best, isn't it? Thanks for bringing the Choice opinion to my attention. I've just had a look at:
http://www.choice.com.au/viewPressRelease.aspx?id=105046&catId=100202&tid=100010&p=1
Choice tested on just five [brave] volunteers and the test was only to decide what was most effective in keeping mossies away. I suggest that it would go without saying that no-one would volunteer to be part of a test of this nature if they had any known allergies and/or chemical sensitivities.
Choice has apparently got some information from somewhere to the effect that "But choosing the lowest DEET concentration that still suits your purpose is recommended, because it can cause problems such as dermatitis, especially if used in large quantities for an extended period of time. In rare cases, it has been linked to encephalopathy and death, mainly in children who had been exposed to excessive and prolonged use."
This is what Dr Joseph Mercola says about DEET: "This is a deadly and potent neurotoxin that you want to stay away from. If you absolutely had to use it, it should only be used on your clothing, never on your skin. It is far too deadly to ever consider using it on your skin."
And Dr Mercola isn't trying to sell us an alternative. This is the disclaimer on his [free] newsletter: "It is important to know that any product I list in this newsletter affords me no advertising revenue, and I have no financial link to the recommended company. That would be a huge conflict of interest. This information is only given for your benefit."
In Australia we have the TGA, a federal govt dept which regulates products which are allegedly good for our health, either to prevent, cure or control adverse medical conditions. But the TGA does not control products which we put on our skin, for which no therapeutic claims are made. So without definite unchallengable proof of harmful effects, or a consumer backlash which would be commercially dertrimental to sales, such products continue to be promoted and marketed.
So we have free choice in the matter. And I prefer not to use a product which can apparently cause dermatitis [or worse] when there are viable alternatives.