Which of the following describes a systemic effect to a pesticide?

• A. A skin rash where the pesticide was in contact with your skin
• B. Nausea from spilling pesticides on your legs
• C. Developing a reaction to a pesticide that others do not
• D. Eye irritation from rubbing your eye with contaminated gloves

Answer: (B)

Systemic effects happen when a pesticide is absorbed into the body and travels through the bloodstream to affect organs away from the site of contact. Nausea after pesticides spill on your legs shows the chemical entered the body and causes symptoms throughout the body, not just at the entry point. The other scenarios describe effects confined to where exposure occurred—skin contact causing a localized rash, eye irritation from contaminated gloves, or a reaction that’s specific to one person. Those are not systemic effects. So the nausea example best illustrates a systemic effect.