3.2.1. Health Risks of Insecticides
Participants reported that the short-term risks of insecticide exposure or ingestion included headaches, trouble breathing, pain in the hands, burning eyes, irritation, dizziness, vomiting, and even death of animals or people. Allergic reactions were a common concern, especially for children. Moreover, participants recognized a difference in individuals’ responses to insecticides – that the response to "Chica Verano" (deltamethrin 5%) might be fine for some, but that others might be sensitive to it.
Alarmingly, participants in both regions reported personal experiences with symptoms consistent with acute pesticide toxicity, including headache, vision changes and difficulty breathing.
Man 1: Because if you stay a bit [in a room with insecticide], it harms you…
Woman: And your head hurts.
Man 2: Your head hurts, and your vision [eyes] too.
-CC
Woman 1: When I use it, with that odor, my head hurts, it hurts my hand.
Facilitator: It gives you a headache. Any worry about using the insecticide?
Woman 2: Because of the vision.
Facilitator: What happens with the vision?
Woman 2: It burns.
-ASA
Several participants reported fatal incidents related to insecticide use. One participant described a friend who drank Malathion (organophosphate insecticide), thinking it was a medicine, and died. Another participant reported that after using a particular insecticide, her daughter became dizzy and her dog vomited; another reported that her puppy died from ingesting “Chica Verano”.
“I have had [bad experiences], with Chica Verano; trying to kill flies, I killed my puppy… And I took it to the veterinarian and even with a vet, I couldn’t save my puppy."
-Woman, CC
Children were considered inherently more vulnerable to the health risks of insecticides. Contributing factors included their behavior, such as picking up or swallowing insecticides, as well as the possibility of allergies and reactions to insecticides that they had never been exposed to before.
"I have had to fumigate in my work, but we were adults. But with children, we don’t know if they have allergies, because when they’re born you see the child but you don’t know what sickness they will have or what allergies they’re going to present, or what products will harm the child, so there’s no guarantee, you have to take them outside."
-Woman, ASA
One participant asked what toxicity meant and whether the odor and strength of an insecticide was a proxy of the toxicity. Several participants reported that all insecticides inherently presented a risk for health, because they were designed to be lethal to living things.
Man: A question, for my knowledge, what is meant by toxic? The lady says it’s toxic, what should I understand?
Facilitator: I don’t know, what do you understand it to mean?
Man: I don’t know if I have it right
Facilitator: Yes, yes, go on.
Man: My dad used the baygon spray [insecticide spray made by “Baygon”], so he would protect himself, but it left a horrible odor, an odor that I couldn’t be around, so I couldn’t be there -- it was a toxic atmosphere for me because it didn’t allow me to breathe for example… When I mix this product, it doesn’t have an odor, so from my point of view, is it less toxic or not toxic because I can be in the environment without using any type of protection?
Facilitator: And how do you know you don’t need to use protection?
Man: Because it doesn’t say here either, “I let myself be guided by the smell,” by the strength.
-CC
3.2.2. Risk Prevention during Insecticide Use
To reduce the risks associated with insecticides, some participants described using informal or homemade personal protective equipment; keeping insecticides stored in the home out of reach of children; timing their application of insecticides when family members were out of the house; and using insecticides as directed and seeking information on which insecticide to choose. However, risk prevention reporting was likely to be biased towards those that take precautions, and precautions described were frequently inadequate (e.g. the use of bags or handwashing for hand protection) and did not fully protect participants from acute exposure to insecticides.
Reported informal personal protective equipment included use of gloves or bags tied over one’s hands and glasses, and masks or rags over the face. Another participant explained that he did not use gloves for one insecticide because it was a powder, and his decision regarding need for insecticide protection was determined by the strength of the odor: if he could stand to be in the environment with the insecticide he did not need protection. One reported that she thought the majority of people did not use these precautions.
Woman: I put bags [on my hands]. If I don’t have any, I just wash my hands -- water with soap – and I put on my glasses.
Facilitator: Glasses?
Woman: Because I have bad eyesight, a mask.
Facilitator: You use a mask?
Woman: When you don’t have money, what are you going to do?
-CC
To prevent harm to children, some participants described keeping insecticides in high places or in hidden areas of the house, as well as spraying when children were out of the house. However, one participant said that her daughter would touch the insecticides regardless of precautions. Another woman described her daughter touching walls wet with insecticides after a government-led fumigation campaign.
"You have to prepare chica verano, it takes a little more time, of course it’s good too! Because if there are small children, we are freed from them being intoxicated... I have a little girl that is very naughty. In order to sprinkle this, I have her by my side and I go with her. But all the same she touches because she is very curious. Children don’t warn you the moment they’re going to do something, in one second, boom [they are up to something]."
-Woman, ASA
Some participants reported knowing how to use insecticides safely by following the directions on an insecticide and reading warning labels. Others said that before using a product, they would seek out information, usually from trusted sources such as agricultural stores. However, during the focus groups facilitators noted that few participants could find the warning instructions in the actual bottles, cans and bags of commercial insecticide provided.