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Report: Mosquito Coil In Your Home Might Actually Kill You

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Health Beckon | By Vineetha

If you have the habit of lighting mosquito coils every night to wipe out mosquitoes, then hold on. You might as well wipe out yourself too.

Sounds a bit too sensational, doesn’t it? But maybe it is required. Because that is how grave the issue is.

Let’s look at this simple logic.

Mosquitoes = living beings

We humans = living beings

If mosquitoes can get affected from the smoke coming out a coil, how can you think you and I can manage to stay hale and hearty?

Makes sense, right?

Having a mosquito coil at home is not as bad as smoking a cigarette. It is as bad as smoking a hundred of them.

The Research

I used to love those GoodKnight Coil ads as a kid. Those animated mosquitoes flying across rooms and the smoke from the coil hitting them like a poison tipped arrow used to amuse me.

But that was back when I had no idea how lethal the humble mosquito coil was.

A study conducted by the Indian Chest Research Foundation (ICRF) showed that inhaling the smoke from a mosquito coil in a closed room for 8 hours is equivalent to smoking about a hundred cigarettes.

In another study conducted at the Taiwanese Institute of Medicine, it was found that a staggering fifty percent of the lung cancer deaths in Taiwan were not related to cigarette smoking, as it was previously thought to be. Instead, the deaths were reported from those households which frequently used mosquito coils.

 

The Mosquito Coil

Nothing much to explain here. An eight year old kid who knows how to wear his knickerbockers will know what a mosquito coil is. But what he and many of us don’t know is what it contains.

Pyrethrum is the major constituent of a mosquito coil. This chemical stings the mosquitoes in their eyes and makes them blind. Its working method, if you ask me. This is how it ‘protects’ us from the annoying gnaws of mosquitoes.

The chemical’s long time presence and usage as an insecticide for centuries is what makes Pyrethrum trustworthy. But breathing in too much of it can increase the risk of asthma, wheezing and other serious lung disorders.

Smokeless coils – the new age mosquito repellents which seem to be taking the people’s mindsets by storm. But they too are of not much significance, since the harmful chemicals would still be present in them. Frankly speaking, smokeless coils are nothing but advertising gimmicks created by the media moguls to monetize people’s innocence.

Okay. I Don’t Want Mosquito Coils. But I Don’t Want Mosquitoes Either.

Yes. I understand your problem. It is humanly impossible to sleep through the night when mosquitoes keep pricking and sucking your blood. And it is humanly impossible to live healthy and long with smoke billowing from a mosquito coil.

So what can you do?

There are alternatives. Highly effective ones. Since childhood we have been made to believe that evading mosquito bites is impossible without the use of mosquito coils.

Highly untrue.

Here are a few alternatives which can actually relieve you from these ‘Dracula-like’ pests.

1. Mosquito Nets

The best and the most common alternative. And the cheapest too. No smoke. No suffocation. No mosquitoes.

2. Garlic

Consume lots of garlic. Mosquitoes can’t just stand the stuff. And you have a bonus too. Garlic is anyway very good for your heart!

3. Apply Neem Oil To Your Skin

Neem oil is used as a natural insecticide. And guess what? Neem oil is the best skincare product I know.

4. Lavender Oil

This is commonly used as a mosquito repellent. The upside of it is the beautiful fragrance it carries.

Don’t worry. The fragrance is not going to attract mosquitoes.

Even after all this, if you still think mosquito coils are the best bet, then I am sorry. God Bless You.

But in case you have changed your mind, then welcome to the world of healthy living!

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Source: Health Beckon

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