Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Clubs are definitely a jolly fun way to spend your one weekend day off! You just have to get over the putrid and persistent <keyword id="21920351" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="alcohol-stench" source="keywords">alcohol stench</keyword>, barrage of obnoxious <keyword id="41765" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="drunk" source="Orion">drunk</keyword> dancers accidentally swatting you once in a while, deafeningly loud music numbing your ears for a few days — to name an easy few. But golly gee, does it get absolutely bonkers once you get past these things! Bottoms up, I say (ruefully)! If you’re smelling sarcasm, you’d be right on the money. While the drunk people and loud music can be excused, the sky-high prices of alcohol remains a ridiculous affair — no wonder many choose to “pre-game” before entering pubs. But if you’re one particular individual from Canada, chances are that this may not be an issue for you at all. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Drunk (medical) visits" comment="subhead" text="Drunk (medical) visits">Drunk (medical) visits</cmsannotation> In an extraordinary series of events encapsulated in a recent medical journal, a 50-year-old <keyword id="21920350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Canadian-woman" source="keywords">Canadian woman</keyword> repeatedly found herself in the emergency room with symptoms of <keyword id="20694559" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="alcohol-intoxication" source="keywords">alcohol intoxication</keyword>. This included excessive sleepiness, slurred speech, and the unmistakable scent of alcohol on her breath. Yet, the report noted that she hadn't consumed a single drop of liquor. As per the report, this unfortunate woman made seven visits to the emergency department over two years, with each instance following a disturbingly familiar pattern. She would suddenly fall asleep while performing daily activities, such as getting ready for work or preparing meals, rendering her unable to work for weeks at a time and significantly diminishing her appetite. Each of these hospital visits culminated in a diagnosis of alcohol intoxication. This was a problem because the woman explained that she had begun to abstain from alcohol, and her family vehemently confirmed the same. Thus, the recurring diagnosis of alcohol intoxication baffled her doctors. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Beer belly, literally!" comment="subhead" text="Beer belly, literally!">Beer belly, literally!</cmsannotation> However, there was one clue as to what might have been going on. As per her medical history, for five years prior to the onset of these episodes, the woman had suffered from recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which required repeated courses of antibiotics. The doctors believe that these antibiotics, while effective against her UTIs, inadvertently disrupted the balance of her <keyword id="20440275" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gut-microbiome" source="keywords">gut microbiome</keyword>, eradicating beneficial bacteria and allowing alcohol-producing fungi to flourish. The new cocktail of stomach microbes gave her a rare and perplexing condition known as <keyword id="21920349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="auto-brewery-syndrome" source="keywords">auto-brewery syndrome</keyword> (<keyword id="1241" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="abs" source="Orion">ABS</keyword>), where her gut microbes were essentially brewing their own alcohol and intoxicating her from within. With less than 100 recorded cases, ABS occurs when certain fungi, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer's yeast) and Candida albicans, proliferate and ferment dietary carbohydrates into alcohol. Individuals with high blood sugar and a genetic predisposition towards poor alcohol metabolism are particularly susceptible. In this woman's case, a move to a prescribed low-carb diet, began to alleviate her symptoms. However, the symptoms returned when she resumed a higher carbohydrate intake, confirming the diagnosis. A combination of antifungal medication, probiotics to restore her gut's beneficial bacteria, and a targeted approach using narrow-spectrum antibiotics for her UTIs brought her relief. Months later, the woman was symptom-free. This case underscores the profound social, legal, and medical implications of ABS. The patient's journey through numerous emergency visits, misdiagnoses, and mental health evaluations highlights the critical need for heightened awareness and understanding of this rare syndrome. This report has been published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, and can be accessed <a href="https://www.cmaj.ca/content/196/21/E724" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.

This Canadian woman has been getting drunk without consuming alcohol for over two years! Here’s how

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Carson, <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gas-smell-headaches-nausea-carson-california-2021-11">smelled like rotten eggs</a> for two months due to elevated hydrogen sulfide levels.</li><li>The stench likely originated with a September <keyword id="11895343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fire" source="Orion">fire</keyword> that leached <keyword id="12205881" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="chemicals" source="Orion">chemicals</keyword> into a nearby waterway.</li></ul>The putrid stench that wafted across Carson, California — just south of downtown Los Angeles — for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gas-smell-headaches-nausea-carson-california-2021-11">nearly two months</a> is no longer a mystery.A local <keyword id="12230730" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="Orion">air pollution</keyword> agency recently traced the fumes to a September warehouse fire, which leached chemicals from wellness and beauty products into the Dominguez Channel, a 15.7-mile river that empties into the ocean at the Port of Los Angeles. Exposure to the chemicals prompted the channel's vegetation and marine life to decay and release hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs.The air pollution agency investigating the smell, South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), <a href="http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/news-archive/2021/5novs-for-elevated-hydrogen-sulfide-levels-dec3-2021.pdf?sfvrsn=8">issued violations on Friday</a> against four companies affiliated with the warehouse, including two companies that stored their products there: Virgin Scent and Day to Day Imports. The other two entities that received violations, Liberty Properties Limited Partnership, and its parent company, Prologis Inc., own the warehouse property.South Coast AQMD also issued a fifth violation on Friday against Los Angeles County, which is responsible for maintaining the Dominguez Channel. Violations may come with civil penalties, such as fines, or ultimately lead to a civil lawsuit. Eight Carson residents have already <a href="https://www.cpmlegal.com/media/news/15096_2021-11-04%20_CC_%20Complaint_2_.pdf">filed a class-action lawsuit</a> alleging that debris from a warehouse fire entered the channel, resulting in a noxious scent. Virgin Scent and Day to Day Imports did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Prologis told Insider that it "will continue to work with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in safeguarding the property against storm water runoff and cleaning up the fire debris."In a statement to Insider, LA County Public Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said the county was "glad to see that Prologis, Inc. and Liberty Properties, LP — the parties the county believes are responsible for the anaerobic conditions that led to the release of hydrogen sulfide gas within the channel — are being held accountable."Pestrella added that the county was working with state and federal regulators to investigate the incident. He did not directly address the violation issued against LA County.Hydrogen sulfide can cause headaches, nausea, coughs, shortness of breath, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat at low concentrations. High concentrations, far higher than those detected at the Dominguez Channel, could potentially result in coma or death, <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/MMG/MMGDetails.aspx?mmgid=385&amp;toxid=67">according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.Some Carson residents experienced headaches and nausea from the fumes, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said in <a href="https://mitchell.lacounty.gov/update-on-air-monitoring-of-odor-in-carson/">an October statement</a>. Other residents told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/29/carson-california-canal-smell">The Guardian</a> and the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-25/carson-smell-persists-as-fed-up-residents-confront-elected-officials?campaign_id=49&amp;emc=edit_ca_20211027&amp;instance_id=43874&amp;nl=california-today&amp;regi_id=87350676&amp;segment_id=72748&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=d106326127b7e7746f292c4d13d48fda">Los Angeles Times</a> they experienced respiratory problems, like coughing and trouble breathing.Monique Alvarez, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/us/carson-california-warehouse-fire-stench.html?campaign_id=49&amp;emc=edit_ca_20211206&amp;instance_id=47100&amp;nl=california-today&amp;regi_id=87350676&amp;segment_id=76221&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=d106326127b7e7746f292c4d13d48fda">told The New York Times</a> that her three children broke out in welts after the hydrogen sulfide release. While the fumes recently subsided, she said, her kids still get bloody noses on occasion."People in our area are still getting sick," Alvarez said. "The symptoms are still here and our bodies are still saying something is wrong."<h2>Levels of hydrogen sulfide were 230 times higher than California's public nuisance standard</h2><div type="image" title="carson smell" height="3307" width="4842" msid="88133833" hostid="261"></div>The warehouse fire broke out on September 30. At the time, Sean Ferguson, an LA County fire inspector, <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/crews-battle-large-warehouse-fire-in-carson/https://ktla.com/news/local-news/crews-battle-large-warehouse-fire-in-carson/">told KTLA</a> that the flames tore through crates of rubbing alcohol wipes. Pestrella also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/us/carson-california-warehouse-fire-stench.html?campaign_id=49&amp;emc=edit_ca_20211206&amp;instance_id=47100&amp;nl=california-today&amp;regi_id=87350676&amp;segment_id=76221&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=d106326127b7e7746f292c4d13d48fda">told The New York Times</a> on Sunday that the warehouse contained hand wipes, bottles of hand sanitizer, and large vats of ethanol.But it took roughly two months for investigators to associate the fire with the rotten egg smell. Local officials initially posited that <a href="https://twitter.com/cbsla/status/1446679197636866051">a leaking pipeline</a> had emitted the hydrogen sulfide, or that <a href="https://kesq.com/news/2021/10/29/foul-odor-from-dominguez-channel-moving-into-communities-outside-carson-ca/#:~:text=Foul%20odor%20from%20Dominguez%20Channel%20moving%20into%20communities%20outside%20Carson%2C%20CA,-By%20Web%20Staff&amp;text=Officials%20have%20said%20that%20the,said%20Wilmington%20resident%20Alan%20Sevilla.">a September earthquake</a> may have released the gas from a local refinery or chemical plant. South Coast AQMD now alleges that the warehouse fire violated a California code, which prohibits the release of air contaminants that create a public nuisance. Offensive smells or public health hazards that affect an entire community or neighborhood are considered public nuisances in California.The hydrogen sulfide levels in Carson reached upward of 7,000 parts per billion (ppb) — about 230 times the state nuisance standard. Hydrogen sulfide doesn't pose a risk of permanent health problems until people are exposed to 27,000 ppb for one hour, or 17,000 ppb for eight hours, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/29/carson-california-canal-smellhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/29/carson-california-canal-smell">The Guardian reported</a>.South Coast AQMD <a href="http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/news-archive/2021/5novs-for-elevated-hydrogen-sulfide-levels-dec3-2021.pdf?sfvrsn=8">said in a press release</a> that it has responded to more than 4,600 odor complaints from Carson and nearby areas since October 3. Residents described the smell as unbearable in posts on Facebook and Twitter, comparing it to vomit, body odor, and "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/29/carson-california-canal-smell">the stench of death</a>."Since October, thousands of people have temporarily relocated to hotels to avoid the smell, with LA County reimbursing the cost of the rooms. Meanwhile, county officials have worked to eliminate the odor by spraying a biodegradable deodorizer and pumping oxygen into the channel — a process that inhibits the release of hydrogen sulfide.Kerjon Lee, a spokesman for the county's public works department, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/us/carson-california-warehouse-fire-stench.html?campaign_id=49&amp;emc=edit_ca_20211206&amp;instance_id=47100&amp;nl=california-today&amp;regi_id=87350676&amp;segment_id=76221&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=d106326127b7e7746f292c4d13d48fda">told The New York Times</a> that emergency work to get rid of the smell had already cost the county $54 million as of last week. Pestrella added that it could take up to two years to restore the channel's water conditions.

California warehouse fire leached chemicals into a nearby channel, releasing a 'rotten egg' smell that some residents say is making them sick

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Your <keyword id="13681472" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="armpits" source="Orion">armpits</keyword> have an inherent odor that's totally normal due to apocrine and eccrine glands.</li><li>Everyone's armpits smell different thanks to genetics, hormones, diet, and other factors.</li></ul>Everyone's underarms have a <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/17865-body-odor#:~:text=It's%20completely%20normal%20to%20have,susceptible%20to%20bad%20body%20odor." target="_blank" rel="noopener">certain smell</a> to them, and most of the time it's completely normal and not a cause for concern.Body odor comes from a couple of things:<ul><li><a href="https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/apocrine-gland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apocrine skin glands</a>. These scent-emitting glands become active during puberty and are highly sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. Apocrine glands in your underarms contribute to stinky pits, but you'll also find them around the groin. </li><li><a href="https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/eccrine-gland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eccrine glands</a>. These glands, which are all over your body but concentrated in the underarms, produce liquid. When you sweat — which everyone does — the bacteria and other microorganisms that are a<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7617/#:~:text=Enterobacter,%20Klebsiella,%20Escherichia%20coli,,in%20the%20moist%20intertriginous%20areas." target="_blank" rel="noopener"> healthy part of your skin</a> become moist and give off a smell. </li></ul>"There is no typical smell because it can differ from person to person and can be influenced by genetics, foods, hormones, hygiene, and medications among other things," says <a href="https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/find-a-doctor/susan-massick-md-4575" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Susan Massick</a>, MD, a dermatologist at <a href="https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center</a>.The only time your B.O. may be a medical problem is if it has an especially foul odor that could be a sign of an infection. Other than that, the only thing you risk from having smelly armpits is that people around you may get grossed out by your smell, says <a href="https://www.providence.org/doctors/profile/852367-brian-r-toy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Toy</a>, MD, a dermatologist at <a href="https://www.providence.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Providence Mission Hospital</a>. Here are five common causes of suddenly smelly armpits, how to stop the stench in its tracks, and when it's time to see a doctor.<h2>1. Diet</h2>As your body breaks down food, chemical compounds reach your apocrine glands where they can then be secreted as body odor. Therefore, what foods you eat can influence how you smell. In particular, foods with especially pungent flavors are linked to strong body odor and include:<ul><li>Sulfurous foods like <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/14/540059875/men-listen-up-women-like-the-smell-of-guys-who-eat-a-certain-diet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">red meat</a>, onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower</li><li>Spices including curry, cumin, fenugreek, garlic, and coriander</li><li>Alcohol including beer, wine, and hard liquor</li></ul>By contrast, a small <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513816301933?via=ihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2017 study</a> found that females preferred the scent of males who ate lots of fruits and vegetables. Yet Toy says not to adjust your diet in hopes of smelling better to the opposite sex. "Diet is only one contributing factor to body odor," he says.<h2>2. Excess sweating</h2>Conditions that cause excess sweating, known as <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007259.htm#:~:text=Hyperhidrosis%20is%20a%20medical%20condition,when%20they%20are%20at%20rest." target="_blank" rel="noopener">hyperhidrosis</a>, can increase body odor. Hyperhidrosis has many causes, including:<ul><li>Anxiety</li><li>Infection</li><li>Cancer and other diseases</li><li>Stroke</li><li>Thyroid condition</li><li>Menopause</li></ul>If you sweat a lot, the moisture caused by extra sweat promotes bacterial growth, Toy says. In addition, the apocrine glands are more active in people who have hyperhidrosis, he says. Note: Sweat-related B.O. isn't limited to people who have a medical condition. Anytime you're sweating — like when you're exercising — you'll likely notice a stronger scent. Yet, body odor caused by stress or nervous sweats can be <a href="https://www.piedmont.org/living-better/the-difference-between-regular-sweat-and-stress-sweat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">particularly strong</a>, because a stress reaction activates those stinky apocrine glands, says Toy.<h2>3. Puberty</h2>Children <a href="https://www.livescience.com/newborns-no-tears-or-sweat.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don't have</a> active apocrine glands, which is why they don't have body odor, says Toy. But during puberty the apocrine glands <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6773238/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become active</a>, which causes the uptick in scent that many people going through puberty experience. Since body odor is new territory for many tweens and teens, they may not yet know how to control it through proper washing, wearing deodorant, and frequently changing clothes. That can make matters even stinkier. "Hygiene probably plays the biggest role," Toy says. <h2>4. Hormonal changes</h2>Hormonal changes can also impact your body scent, whether they're caused by the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, or menopause. During pregnancy, people are <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-88399-9_6?noAccess=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more likely to sweat</a>, but their apocrine glands are less active, which can change scent overall. Biological changes may also be at play: A small 2020 study found that males perceived female body odor as more pleasant during ovulation. "In the animal kingdom, body odor changes during ovulation to attract a mate and increase the odds of conception," says Toy. There's little research about changes to scent during the menstrual cycle in humans, but lots of <a href="https://www.kaianaturals.com/why-do-you-smell-more-during-menstruation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anecdotal evidence</a>. <h2>5. Gender transition</h2>Testosterone is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4050411/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linked</a> to sweating, especially from the apocrine glands, says Toy. "Anyone taking testosterone supplementation will be more predisposed to body odor," he says. That includes trans men, who often notice a stronger body odor and more sweating <a href="https://ftmtopsurgery.ca/blog/testosterone-therapy/happens-first-year-testosterone/#:~:text=3-6%20months,you%20may%20notice%20excessive%20sweating." target="_blank" rel="noopener">within three months</a> of beginning testosterone therapy.Trans women may also notice changes to their body odor, but it's more likely to be a decrease as testosterone levels drop. <h2>Treatment and prevention</h2>The best way to treat foul-smelling armpits is to practice good hygiene, says Toy:<ul><li>Shower daily. Wash your armpits with an antibacterial soap. This will help minimize bacteria on your skin that react with your sweat causing odor. </li><li>Use antiperspirant. <a href="https://www.insider.com/deodorant-vs-antiperspirant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antiperspirant stops sweating</a>, as opposed to <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/beauty/best-refillable-deodorants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deodorant</a>, which just masks scent. Apply antiperspirant at night, to allow it to absorb while you sleep. </li><li>Shave your armpits. Hair traps sweat and bacteria, and can increase scent.</li><li>Wear wicking, breathable clothing. Clothes that keep you cool will reduce sweating, which should reduce odor.</li><li>Adjust your diet. If you notice certain foods make you smell, consider cutting those out or cutting back, says Massick. </li></ul>If you try all of that and still have a bad odor, Toy recommends trying <a href="https://www.amazon.com/PanOxyl-Benzoyl-Peroxide-Control-Antimicrobial/dp/B081KLNHSG" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">an antimicrobial wash with 4% benzoyl peroxide</a> on your armpits. That can remove bacteria and fungus, and reduce scent. <h2>When to see a doctor</h2>If you have a sudden, unexplained change in body odor that doesn't respond to a solid hygiene routine, see a doctor, says Massick. "If you feel it is out of proportion or unable to be controlled, then seek medical advice for tips to help combat it," she says.Certain medical conditions can lead to foul-smelling armpits, including:<ul><li>A yeast infection or rash on the skin</li><li><a href="https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1072342-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bromhidrosis</a>, a chronic foul body odor </li><li><a href="https://www.aocd.org/page/Erythrasma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Erythrasma</a>, a bacteria skin infection</li></ul>To treat these, you may need a prescription antibacterial cream or other medication, Toy says. <h2>Insider's takeaway</h2>Body odor happens when sweat interacts with bacteria on our skin, and when the apocrine glands in your armpits secrete scent. Changes to body odor can happen due to diet, hygiene or hormonal fluctuations. If you or a loved one is offended by your odor, a solid hygiene routine and working with a dermatologist can help, says Massick. However, it's also important to remember that body odor is to be expected. "Remember that body odor is perfectly natural and completely normal," says Massick.

5 reasons your armpits suddenly smell so bad and what to do about it

APRecently, I spent a nasty several days cleaning out an apartment infested with bedbugs.The bedbugs landed in my partner's former apartment (which she shared with her cousin) just weeks before she was supposed to move into mine. The critters announcing their arrival with a splash of red welts along her cousin's back. We spent a weekend taking apart furniture, spraying everything down with rubbing alcohol, and stacking piles of their possessions in the middle of the apartment for the exterminators. For me, the best part of the cleaning weekend was when the one-eyed Plott hound that lived in their apartment started retching uncontrollably, possibly from the stench of alcohol in the air, and I got to escape for a few hours to walk her to the vet. The vet mentioned that bedbugs don't really feed on or impact most household pets. Unlike lice, ticks, and fleas, bedbugs are an especially human-adapted species. They love our bald skin and penchant for draping our dens with all kinds of comfy hidey-holes where females can lay one to five nearly invisible eggs a day.That got me wondering where and how our two species stumbled into our current, mutually-antagonistic relationship.A bedbug infestation is as much an infestation of your mind as your house or apartment. Bedbugs don't leave behind any diseases, just ugly marks. And the critters are tiny, with even the adults nearly impossible to spot. Some people are immune to bedbug bites, and others won't find them for weeks after the deed was done. Even one pregnant female left alive can start an infestation from scratch.The human-bedbug story between goes back more than 200,000 years. As Brooke Borel, who literally wrote the book on bedbugs, <a href="http://www.popsci.com/birth-bed-bug">explained in 2015 for Popular Science</a>, bedbugs do infest at least one other species: bats.When early humans started sharing caves with bats, it seems, some bat-bed-bugs made the leap to humans. And some of those bedbugs enjoys the taste of our flesh enough to come out of those caves with us. They followed us through history, from <a href="https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Cimex+lectularius+L.,+the+common+bed+bug+from+Pharaonic+Egypt.-a065537240">ancient Egypt</a> to <a href="http://www.bedbugs.org/the-history-of-bed-bugs/">England, Germany, and Greece</a>, and then, by way of colonists, to North America.The modern bedbug is human-adapted, and <a href="http://www.popsci.com/birth-bed-bug">genetically distinct</a> from the cousins it left behind with the bats.We nearly had them beat in the 20th century. Growing up in the '90s and early 2000s, I never heard the creatures mentioned, except in that fragment of nursery rhyme Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.That's because of the success of DDT. Invented in Germany in 1874, the colorless, nearly odorless synthetic chemical was put to work during World War II clearing cities and countrysides of mosquitoes, ticks, and, yes, bedbugs. Rates of infestation fell all over the world.AP Photo/J. Walter GreenA Jewish refugee bows low on Feb. 16, 1947, as he receives a charge of DDT disinfectant from soldiers of the British 6th Airborne Division before leaving Jerusalem on the Cyprus-bound ship, Ocean Vigour.But DDT was a poisoned apple. As Rachel Carson first popularly claimed in her famous 1962 book Silent Spring, the chemical that saved so many lives from malaria and other bug-borne illnesses was also wiping out wildlife and threatening human populations with cancer. Decades of science have confirmed Carson's claims. (It's a hardy poison though; chemical signals of DDT <a href="http://www.panna.org/resources/ddt-story">still turn up</a> in 99% of people tested by the Centers for Disease Control, as well as in the food supply.)By 2001, countries all over the world were ready to get on board with a DDT ban. At that year's <a href="http://chm.pops.int/default.aspx">Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants</a>, the pesticide was outlawed all over the world with few exceptions.The year 2001 is also a good marker for when bed bug infestations, almost unheard-of in the wealthy nations of the world at that point, began to climb. These days, over 99% of exterminators report that they've dealt with bedbugs in the last year, and <a href="http://www.pestworld.org/all-things-bed-bugs/bed-bug-facts-statistics/">about one in five people in the US has had them in their homes</a>.It's an especially big problem in dense urban areas, where cities are <a href="https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/bed_bug_information.html">writing laws</a> and <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/bedbugs.page">pouring funds</a> into efforts to limit the epidemic.No one has a good solution beyond fallible containment schemes. Search the very active network web forums devoted to clearing out bedbugs, and you'll even find folks who <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ddt-is-ok-with-me">advocate bringing back DDT</a>, cancer rates and <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/recovery/biologue.html">bald eagles</a> be damned.Even if we did risk bringing back DDT to American life, it probably wouldn't work. When we were busy spraying DDT everywhere, bedbugs were busy mutating. <a href="http://www.bedbugsupply.com/blog/faq/bed-bugs-spreading-came-back/">Most</a> are now resistant to the stuff.For now, the best thing any of us can do is thoroughly check our clothes and suitcases when we return from trips, respond immediately when we do find bedbug bites on our bodies, and scoot our chairs surreptitiously away from anyone who mentions their home is infested.So given the alternative, if bedbugs are a sign of falling DDT use, it's a good thing we have them. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bedbugs-growing-more-resistant-insecticides-evolving-2016-9">Bedbugs are evolving right before our eyes</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

You Searched For "alcohol stench" and got 4 results

This Canadian woman has been getting drunk without consuming alcohol for over two years! Here’s how

Ankush Banerjee

California warehouse fire leached chemicals into a nearby channel, releasing a 'rotten egg' smell that some residents say is making them sick

Aria Bendix

5 reasons your armpits suddenly smell so bad and what to do about it

Kelly Burch,Debra Jaliman

The 200,000-year history of how bedbugs infested our minds and homes

Rafi Letzter

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides