{"id":11902,"date":"2024-08-27T09:01:22","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T09:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=11902"},"modified":"2024-08-27T09:24:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T09:24:24","slug":"is-deet-bad-for-you-what-to-know-about-bug-spray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=11902","title":{"rendered":"Is DEET Bad for You? What to Know About Bug Spray."},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Q: Everyone says that the DEET in bug spray is awful, but my own research seems to suggest that it\u2019s well-tested and safe. Am I giving myself a little bit of cancer every time I use it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A spritz of a DEET-containing bug spray might smell unpleasant, but when used correctly, DEET\u2019s offensive odor might be its most harmful effect, said Dr. Joseph Kennedy, a physician and medical toxicologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, there\u2019s widespread concern that DEET might be potentially toxic or cause cancer, he said, with \u201cso many misperceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here is why people think DEET is bad for human health, and what we know about its safety.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7fe9289e\">How does DEET work?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scientists aren\u2019t exactly sure how DEET repels insects. But contrary to what many people may think, DEET is not an insecticide, Dr. Kennedy said. It doesn\u2019t kill mosquitoes and is not poisonous to them. Instead, it simply deters them, likely with its noxious smell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe whole point of smelling unpleasant is you\u2019re not the only one that thinks that,\u201d Dr. Kennedy said. \u201cInsects do, too,\u201d he said. That includes other bugs like ticks, fleas and biting flies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another theory about how DEET works is that it masks certain human emissions, like carbon dioxide, which insects are normally attracted to, Dr. Kennedy said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdeet-bug-spray.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdeet-bug-spray.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdeet-bug-spray.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdeet-bug-spray.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Q: Everyone says that the DEET in bug spray is awful, but my own research seems to suggest that it\u2019s well-tested and safe. Am I giving myself a little bit of cancer every time I use it?A spritz of a DEET-containing bug spray might smell unpleasant, but when used correctly, DEET\u2019s offensive odor might be its most harmful effect, said Dr. Joseph Kennedy, a physician and medical toxicologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center.Still, there\u2019s widespread concern that DEET might be potentially toxic or cause cancer, he said, with \u201cso many misperceptions.\u201dHere is why people think DEET is bad for human health, and what we know about its safety.How does DEET work?Scientists aren\u2019t exactly sure how DEET repels insects. But contrary to what many people may think, DEET is not an insecticide, Dr. Kennedy said. It doesn\u2019t kill mosquitoes and is not poisonous to them. Instead, it simply deters them, likely with its noxious smell.\u201cThe whole point of smelling unpleasant is you\u2019re not the only one that thinks that,\u201d Dr. Kennedy said. \u201cInsects do, too,\u201d he said. That includes other bugs like ticks, fleas and biting flies.Another theory about how DEET works is that it masks certain human emissions, like carbon dioxide, which insects are normally attracted to, Dr. Kennedy said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11904,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11902"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11905,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11902\/revisions\/11905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}