Dominican School of Pilar

S.Y. 2010-2011

Jaymel Joy B. Barola

Researcher

Mrs. Rosalina Lovedioro

Abstract

Insect repellents are important tools for prevention of insect-born diseases as well as
painful or uncomfortable insect bites. The 2 most effective and widely used products are
N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet), which is applied to exposed skin, and permethrin,
which is applied to clothes. Both are safe when used according to directions. Other
repellents, including a variety of plant-derived products, have also been used but
generally have a weaker or shorter-lived repellent effect.

Introduction

Insect repellents are important public health tools for the prevention of vector-borne
infectious diseases. Technically, an insect repellent is any chemical -- natural or synthetic --
that causes insects or other arthropods to make directed, oriented movements away from
the source of repellent. Chemical substances that have repellent effects enable us to go
places and do things in insect and disease-infested areas while avoiding disease
transmission by arthropods.

Repellents have prevented countless cases of malaria, dengue fever, encephalitis, and other
mosquito-borne diseases. However, in recent years, concerns about the potential adverse
health effects of insect repellents have increased, especially for those containing N, N-
diethyl-3-methyl benzamide, also known as deet. This is the most effective and widely used
insect repellent available. It repels a variety of mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks , fleas, and
biting flies, and an estimated 50 to 100 million people in the United States use it each
year.

There have been a few reports of systemic reactions from repeated cutaneous exposure to
deet. For example, in 6 girls ranging in age from 17 months to 8 years, behavioral
changes, ataxia, encephalopathy, seizures, and/or coma developed after repeated cutaneous
exposure to deet; 3 subsequently died. In addition, episodes of confusion, irritability, and
insomnia have been reported by Everglades National Park employees following repeated
and prolonged use of deet. However, a few reports of adverse reactions to deet should
not be misconstrued to mean that repellents are dangerous and are not to be used. All
commercially available repellents are generally safe when used according to their label
instructions. This short review discusses various chemical repellents, their modes of
action, possible side effects, and precautions necessary to prevent adverse reactions.
Repelling insects. Oregano oil has been tested as an insect repellent for Culicodoides imicola, a disease-
bearing species of insect commonly known as “no-see-ums” or biting midges