Can you get cancer from bug spray?

Question

I know this sounds absurd, but my mom wouldn't let me use bug spray because she thought the Deet would give me cancer!!

Answer 1

The use of this product is all relative to where you live and how much of a trade off or risk you are willing to take. If you live in a rural area that is infested with black flies, mosquitos, and other biting bugs . . trust me . . using products with Deet may be a trade off you are willing to take. Anyone who has spent time in the wild or on rivers or lakes where these pests hang out can attest that your quality of life takes a real nose dive without something poweful to keep them away. A little Avon just isn't gonna do it. I'm talking fully engulfed clouds of insects that can pretty much bite any part of the body that is unexposed. So . . use Deet if you are a sportsmen or fisherman or work in the woods. If you are hanging around the city or suburbia where there might be a few mosquitos in the back yard . . use something less powerful and less effective like citronelli candles or a bug zapper . . you can even add a bat house to encourage the little winged creatures to hang around eating mosquitos. So . .it's all relative to what you intend to do. Using Deet occasionally is not going to put you at a risk for cancer or expose you to a carcinogen that will immediately make you have cancer. Instead limit your use of Deet to when you need it the most and you should be fine. I know people who have been using Deet products for years and they don't have cancer. It's just not something to use every day . . just use it sporadically.

Answer 2

Deet can be dangerous in high doses. But an article I read about bug spray with deet said that there isn't enough deet in the bug spray to harm us. If you need a bug spray without deet, you could contact an Avon lady or look up Avon online or ebay. Avon has a variety of bug sprays that don't have deet and that are very effective in keeping the bugs away.

Answer 3

Some people are more susptable to some things than others. And you never know what they may find down the road. Just in case - 5 - Try Vitamin C therapy. A few years ago a cancer specialist came out with a paper that said the best cancer/infection fighter found to date was Interferon. At the time it was $15,000 a gram. The paper also said that Interferon was a by-product of the natural breakdown of Vitamin C in your body. Shortly after that the FDA tried to make Vitamin C by prescription only. Guess why? 21 The FDA has the RDA for Vitamin C set at 64 mg a day, just enough to ward off scurvy. (If you find this useful, copy it and give it to a friend. Somebody got to Yahoo and they delete this as soon as they find it) Linus Pauling, who got a Nobel Prize for his work with Vitamin C and a second Nobel Prize for Organic Chemistry, said that 1000 mg a day should be the minimum and 2000 mg a day if you are sick or smoke. 22 He played tennis almost daily until the day he died at 96. Personally, I got sick twice a year for 2 weeks at a time, for more than 20 years, with something to this day the doctors have no idea what it was, but for a week in the middle of those 2 weeks I was flat on my back. I started Vitamin C therapy once I gave up on the doctors. I took enough to be asymptomatic for those 2 weeks. 23 Too much and I got diarrhea and too little and I got sick. Within a narrow range, and it followed a bell curve over those 2 weeks, I was not sick. At the height I was taking 40,000 mg a day and 300,000 over the 2 weeks. After 2 years of that I have not been sick since – more than 15 years. Vitamin C acts as a natural diuretic so you need to drink a lot of water and watch your body in total, but my kidneys did not dissolve as the doctors predicted, or get massive kidney stones as other predicted. I did not dissolve my bones as some predicted or completely calcify my joints as others predicted. 24 I had no side effects at all. It might be something to consider.

Answer 4

Only if you are continuously exposed to it for a very long time[chronic exposure]. Bug sprays are over 99% plain water with just enough pesticide to kill a bug 1/10000 your size. You're better off worrying about getting hit by a bus while crossing the street.

Answer 5

Deet Cancer

Answer 6

No Need To Fear about at all.
It's Only a Myth

Answer 7

DDT is an insecticide that is carcinogenic as well as causing numerous other physical problems. Your mother was right and did you a favour, Even modern chemicals used in air fresheners and cleaning products whilst not carcinogenic increase the risk of asthema allergy and other health problems. You cant beat the old fashioned soap, bleach, block wax polish and plastic fly swat.

Answer 8

although manufacturers have lessened the amount of deet in their products, it is known to be a cause of cancer. your mom's right.

Answer 9

nowadays everything gives you cancer, mcdonalds food, tanning beds, cell phones i have even heard diet pepsi gives you cancer! so don't worry about some bug spray your fine!