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Agent Orange: Diseases & Symptoms

"Agent Orange" was an herbicide and defoliant used by the United States against the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War to destroy foliage in the countryside to give them a tactical advantage. The creators of the substance were initially unaware of the effects the substance could have on humans. The substance in the compound that has is now known to be harmful is dioxin. Agent Orange has affected thousands of American soldiers and countless Vietnamese.

  1. Personality Disorders

    • As the dioxin affects the body, it can produce a marked difference in a person's personality and overall mental health. An affected person might exhibit a variety of behaviors that they did not before show. These include: anger, thoughts of suicide, heightened irritability, depression and mood swings, accompanied with varying changes in personality.

    Chloracne

    • Depending on the amount and dosage of dioxin to which a person is exposed, they might develop chloracne as a result. This is marked by a variety of lesions that appear all over the body, including cysts, pustules and comedones, as well as minor cases that resemble minor acne outbreaks. However, not all veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange will develop chloracne.

    Cancer

    • In a study conducted by the US government in 1966, rats were given varying amounts of Agent Orange to test their effects. As documented by the Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc website, the rats not only developed various forms of cancer, but a host of deformities and other ailments as well. A more recent study conducted at Emory University analyzed Vietnam War Veterans and the variety of cancers that they contracted due to their exposure, as published by the Cancer Journal for Physicians online.

    Birth Defects

    • Although an article published on cable news channel MSNBC's website says that the US government has taken the position that there is no clear link between Agent Orange and its negative effects on health, the inhabitants of a Vietnamese village beg to differ. As one of many villages doused with the chemical during the late 1970s, children of varying ages suffer from the debilitating birth defects that leave them oftentimes screaming in pain all day long. The mothers, who ate fish and drank water from the surrounding waterways during the time when Agent Orange was released, attribute this to their children being born the way they were.

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