Why do we need mosquito repellent?
Mosquito-borne
illnesses are diseases that are spread by mosquitoes. The common examples are
Dengue, Chikungunya, Malaria and the recent outbreak of Zika.
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| Image|Pixabay |
We can prevent the mosquito-borne
illness by preventing mosquitoes from biting, as disease transmission occurs
when the mosquito bites.
There are many mosquito repellents
in the market, some that we spray on clothes, some with roll-ons, clips and
etc. But how safe are these products, especially to be used by young children
and pregnant mothers?
Let’s look into
common mosquito repellents and it's
ingredients.
One of the key ingredients
of mosquito repellents is Diethyltoluamide
or DEET. DEET is present in varying concentration depending on the brand of the
repellent.
DEET was originally developed by the American army to be used by
their soldiers during wartime in the jungle.
It’s a yellow oil and has a strong smell
which is disliked by insects such as mosquitoes. Thus it effectively repels
them.
How safe is DEET?
In a 2014 review by the US Environmental Protection Agency1,
it was concluded that DEET does not cause any harm to adults, pregnant mothers or
children when used properly. Proper usage
means using it on clothes, or exposed skin and not applying it over wounded
skin or under clothes. This is also supported by doctors from Harvard Medical
Centre2.
But products containing DEET are not advised to be used on
children under the age of 2 months according to American Association of Pediatrics.
Those older than that are safe to use repellents as long as the DEET
concentration do not exceed 30%.3
What concentration of DEET to buy?
Depending on the brand of insect repellent, the
concentration of DEET varies. The effectiveness of DEET is similar regardless
of the concentration of the product. But the duration of action may differ. For
example, 10% DEET will provide protection against mosquito bite for about 2
hours and 30% will do the work for 5 hours.
It’s not recommended to use a product with DEET more than 30%.
Are there any natural alternatives to DEET?
There are many alternatives to DEET. The one with evidence
behind it is lemon eucalyptus oil. Often used in natural mosquito repellent
products, this oil is proven to be more than 95% effective against mosquitoes
for 3 hours when compared to DEET.4
While there are many products in the pharmacy which uses
lemon eucalyptus oil in their mosquito repellent, we can also prepare it at
home.
Just mix 1 part of lemon eucalyptus oil to 10 parts of sunflower oil and
spray it or rub it on the skin.
Conclusion
Protecting our loved ones and ourselves against mosquito-borne illness is important especially
now.
Always remember to wear long sleeves shirts and pants, and use mosquito
repellent when going out especially in the evening.
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Thanks for the info !!
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