Physician Warns Against Excessive Use of Insecticide

 

He told newsmen on Friday in Abuja that when inhaled, insecticides could cause damage to the lungs.

Osagie recommended the use of mosquito treated nets as against insecticide.

“We live in a tropical zone and of course mosquitoes everywhere; the tendency to use insecticide is always there. Insecticide generally, yes while killing the mosquitoes, they are major irritants to the respiratory system.

“The truth about it is that this insecticides when sprayed they have condensates, they interact and then of course those particles start coming down and when you inhale them they can cause direct damage to the lungs.

“So for the individuals at risk of developing chronic lung diseases  like asthma or  chronic obstructive airway disease,  when exposed to this insecticide the rate of difficulty with breathing increases and worsens the disease conditions and could result in death.

“The use of insecticide treated mosquito nets is advised to discourage the use of insecticide so if we use more of the treated mosquito nets, then we wouldn’t have much need for insecticides.”

Osagie said that the odourless insecticides were equally as dangerous as the ones that smells when inhaled.

“Even the so called insecticides that do not smell, have the capacity of carrying irritants to the respiratory system and when inhaled, can cause direct damage to the lungs and also make the bronchial train hypersensitive leading to more of bronchial spasms.

“So while we cannot run away from the use of insecticides, the advice would be that if you use insecticides give reasonable time for those fumes particles to settle.”

The physician, however, suggested that food should be properly covered before spraying insecticide to avoid abdominal pain and food poisoning.

“When you spray the insecticide, you may not see the particles because they are very tiny and can settle on the food, though such cases are rare, if you take a large quantity it could lead to stomach upset and food poisoning.”

He advised that fruits should also be properly washed before eating, especially when insecticide had been sprayed around.