Allergic pesticides

Burkatskaya EN, Rudnichenko MF (1969) Study of allergic pesticide properties. In Pesticide Use Hygiene, Toxicology and Clinical Features of Poisonings. Kiev, pp 166-172. 

A dietary supplement may be safe when taken in the recommended doses but may become dangerous in higher doses. However, patients may develop side effects even when ingesting recommended doses. Adverse reactions may be due to allergic reactions, dietary supplements containing toxic substances, mis-identification of plant, mislabeling of plant, natural toxic substances such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey, unnatural toxic substances such as heavy metals, or pesticides. 

Concerns with antibiotic use have centered on the potential development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, and allergic or physiological responses. Customer perceptions about food safety differed by gender, age, and education level. Women were more concerned about quality control and pesticides than men, whereas consumers with at least some college education were more concerned with spoilage and bacteria/germs contamination than those with only a high school education. 

If data indicate that the pesticide may cause allergic effects, such as skin irritation or asthma, the label must say so. Labels sometimes refer to allergic effects as "sensitization."... 

Pesticides can cause three types of harmful effects acute effects, delayed or chronic effects, and allergic effects. 

Some people are sensitized to certain pesticides. After being exposed once or a few times without effect, they develop a severe allergy-like response upon later exposures. These allergic effects include ... 

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell which people may develop allergies to which pesticides. However, certain people seem to be more chemically sensitive than others. They develop an allergic response to many types of chemicals in their enviromnent. These persons may be more likely to develop allergies to pesticides. 

One excellent food that illustrates this dichotomy is the peanut. First, there is a well-documented physical hazard associated with children who choke on them. Should we label peanuts to protect us from these acute hazards, which probably killed more children than exposure to any trace level of pesticide on the same peanut Secondly, some individuals are acutely allergic to peanuts or any food containing them. This is a serious problem for those sensitive individuals, and efforts continue to be made to label foods containing peanuts to alert these individuals. The main toxicological problem of peanuts and products made from them, such as my personal dietary staple, peanut butter, is the problem of contamination with molds. Aflatoxin, found in moldy peanuts, is the most potent human carcinogen known and is well documented to produce liver cancer. 

Other lessons may be learned from this analogy, such as the difficulty of dealing with unusually sensitive or allergic individuals as well as environmental versus occupational exposure. The chances of bee stings dramatically increase if one is a beekeeper. Precautions are taken to ensure that such individuals are protected, as there is a real risk. The same holds for pesticides. 

No studies were located regarding dermal effects following oral exposure to organic manganese. Reports of contact dermatitis in people exposed to maneb or mancozeb are discussed in Section 2.2.3.2 because the route of exposure is assumed to be dermal. None of these studies indicate that ingestion of either pesticide occurred or would contribute to the allergic skin reactions. 

Obama K. 1996. Studies on allergic skin disease caused by pesticides in citrus growers Eield survey study and animal experiments. Med J Kagoshima Univ 48 13-22. 

Hypersensitivity. In addition to inducing immune dysfunction, pesticides have the potential to exert immunomodulatory effects through the induction of allergic hypersensitivity and autoimmune disease. Pesticide-related hypersensitivity reactions generally are... 

A monograph on contact hypersensitivity (8) lists over 40 pesticides of various chemical classes which have been implicated by case reports as causal agents of contact dermatitis in humans. Other pesticides not included in Cronin s list have also been reported to cause contact dermatitis episodes (53-55). In spite of the large number of such case reports, the incidence of documented allergic contact dermatitis to any particular pesticide is rare. For example. Winter and Kurtz (56) evaluated various environmental factors affecting the incidence of skin rashes in California vineyard workers. 

Much of the available information on immunotoxic evaluation of anticholinesterases involves pesticides. However, exposure to low levels of pesticides does not appear to adversely affect the immune system. The effects observed arc not always dose related and only rarely occur at exposures not producing systemic toxicity. Allergic responses and various degrees of autoimmune diseases have been reported in workers occupationally exposed to pesticides however, this effect may be mediated by alteration of proteins rather than inhibition of cholinesterases. Modulation of immune responses, particularly the interference with host defense mechanisms, has been experimentally induced fora variety of anticholinesterase pesticides. 

Mark, K.A., R.R. Brancaccio, N.A. Soter, and D.E. Cohen 1999. Allergic contact and photoallergic contact dermatitis to plant and pesticide allergens. Arch. Dermatol. 135(l) 67-70. 

In addition to other substances (pesticides, food additives, dust, smoke, etc.), allergic effects of solvents are discussed as an initial cause of MCS. ... 

Malyuk VI (1966) On allergic diseases of chemical etiology. In Hygiene and Toxicology of Pesticides and Clinical Features of Poisonings. Zdorovie, Kiev 4 42-53. 

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