6 ms·
> Also don't ever mix it with DEET, because the combination is neurotoxic. Holy crap. I must know 100 people who regularly wear Permethrin-treated clothes and
by pinko 13y ago
> Also don't ever mix it with DEET, because the combination is neurotoxic.
Holy crap. I must know 100 people who regularly wear Permethrin-treated clothes and then spray on DEET repellent. I had no idea it was dangerous.
(FWIW, I avoid them both due to general conservatism when it comes to toxic chemicals, especially when the stakes are low -- i.e., the worst-case is itching and not malaria.)
- Alex3917 13y agoI started doing it only because I've already gotten bitten by two ticks this year and have found another half dozen on me. I'm only outside a few hours a week collecting mushrooms though, I'm not lying with it pressed against my skin for ten hours straight in a hunting blind or doing anything that would cause me to sweat excessively. But yeah, at least in the Northeast it's gotten to the point where going out into the woods wearing shorts is probably far more dangerous than having unprotected sex with random people, at least as far as we can tell based on the limited tick infection statistics.
- raamdev 13y agoThe tick problem in the Northeast USA seems to vary wildly every year. I've lived here my whole life (31 years, in the southern New Hampshire area) and I've seen tick populations fluctuate drastically from one year to the next. A few years ago it was particularly bad: I went camping on my dad's land in northern New Hampshire one weekend and we had literally a dozen ticks crawling up our legs within five minutes of arriving. When I awoke in my tent the next morning, the outside of the tent had dozens of ticks clinging to the outside netting, trying to get in. It was impossible to walk anywhere without getting several ticks on you. None of us, including my dad who has lived here 60+ years, has seen it that bad. In contrast, we were up at the same area a few weekends ago and we spent three days walking through the woods, camping out, and wearing shorts the whole time. The three of us had a total of 2 ticks the entire weekend. I'm very curious to know what's influencing their numbers.
- yread 13y agoIt could be caused by this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_density_dependence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_density_dependence
- voidlogic 13y ago“Lyme disease is the only infection I know of where we have a safe and effective vaccine, but it’s not available to the public,” says Dr. Allen Steere, the physician who uncovered the disease: http://www.wbur.org/2012/06/27/lyme-vaccine http://www.wbur.org/2012/06/27/lyme-vaccine
- roc 13y agoThe worst case of a tick bite is far more serious than itching.
- jeltz 13y agoYep. at least in Europe and Russia the worst case for a tick bite is death (from TBE). I am not sure what the worst case is in North America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick-borne_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick-borne_disease EDIT: Seems like some North American ticks can kill you with their neurotoxins.
- jlgreco 13y agoThe most common "bad case" scenario in North America is lyme disease. It's easy to treat if caught early, but is disabling in the late stages (possible outcomes include psychosis). I don't think it is common for it to get bad, but catching it at all is relatively common if you spend much time in nature around the northeast corridor.
- hobs 13y agoWhen it does get bad it can be mistaken for ALS. That's pretty fucking bad.
- s_baby 13y agoIf you live close to tiger mosquitoes, they can spread disease.
- XFrequentist 13y agoMany genera of mosquitoes _can_ spread disease: anopheles, aedes, culex, culiseta. Your risk depends on where you are, how often you're bitten, the prevalence of infection among mosquitoes, etc etc.