Tralomethrin is a pyrethroid

Pyrethroid

A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins produced by the flowers of pyrethrums . Pyrethroids now constitute a major commercial household insecticides...

 insecticide

Insecticide

An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...

.

Tralomethrin has potent insecticidal properties; it kills by modifying the gating kinetics of the sodium channels in neuron

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

s, increasing the length of time the channel remains open after a stimulus, thereby depolarizing the neuron for a longer period of time. This leads to uncontrolled spasm

Spasm

In medicine a spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. It is sometimes accompanied by a sudden burst of pain, but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes...

ing, paralysis

Paralysis

Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...

, and eventual death. Insects with certain mutations in their sodium channel gene may be resistant to tralomethrin and other similar insecticides.

Effectiveness

Tralomethrin is also effective against most members of class Arachnida as well as insects, in addition studies by the EPA on the ecotoxicity of tralomethrin shows results as follows:

Tralomethrin Ecotoxicity
Organism Group	Effects Noted
Aquatic plants	Accumulation
Crustaceans	Intoxication, Population
Fish Fish Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...	Accumulation, Mortality, Population
Insects	Mortality, Population
Molluscs	Intoxication
Zooplankton Zooplankton Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...	Intoxication, Mortality, Population

Impact on human health

Tralomethrin is a pyrethroid

Pyrethroid

A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins produced by the flowers of pyrethrums . Pyrethroids now constitute a major commercial household insecticides...

 insecticide. The symptoms of poisoning with pyrethroid compounds are all alike:

• Irritation of skin and eyes.
• Irritability to sound or touch, abnormal facial sensation, sensation of prickling, tingling or creeping on skin, numbness.
• Headache
  Headache
  A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
  
  , dizziness
  Dizziness
  Dizziness refers to an impairment in spatial perception and stability. The term is somewhat imprecise. It can be used to mean vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness....
  
  , nausea
  Nausea
  Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
  
  , vomiting, diarrhea
  Diarrhea
  Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
  
  , excessive salivation, fatigue.
• In severe cases: fluid in the lungs and muscle twitching may develop. Seizure
  Seizure
  An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
  
  s may occur and are more common with more toxic cyano-pyrethroids.