Various Mosquito Repellants
The active ingredient in most mosquito repellants which keeps mosquitoes at bay is DDT. When you apply a mosquito repellant, it actually repels the mosquito and you don’t get bitten on your skin. The thing is, while it protects you from mosquitoes and therefore from a whole host of possible diseases and from the irritation of being bitten too, does it ensure safety for you as far as your health is concerned?
The DDT that is present in mosquito repellants features in the approved list as far as the US Environmental Protection Agency or EPA is concerned. The two ingredients are N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide or DEET and KBR 3023 or picaridin. They both mean greater protection from mosquitoes as their effects last longer than most of the other repellants. However, while one is glad of having a mosquito repellant that is effective, it is also prudent to pause and wonder if it is safe as far as your health goes. If you look at the instructions for use, it is rather vague about how often you should use it and any problems that could occur if you used it too often. The fact remains that the repellant that has a higher concentration would definitely give you better protection against mosquitoes but what if the amount posed a health hazard for you?
Let’s first look at how these repellants work. We’ll look at their levels of concentration and how many hours that would keep the mosquitoes away. The highest concentration of DEET is usually 24% and you get around 5 hours of protection. It goes down to 4 hours with a 20% concentration and to 2 hours with a 7% concentration. The repellants with 5% are only enough for protection that lasts for 1 ½ hours.
In all of them, the label instructions would probably tell you to reapply the product in case you found that it had become ineffective. So what happens with some people is that they tend to feel that more applications would mean greater protection but this is not a very safe thing to do especially for children. Too much of DEET because of reapplications could cause harm. So while it might protect you and your loved ones from mosquito-borne diseases, it might just cause other problems. One just cannot take the issue of too much DDT lightly.
The general rule of thumb is that babies up to 2 months should not have mosquito repellant applied on them. Many people prefer to use natural repellants when children are very young. These include the ones made from citronella and soybean oil, and after the child is 3 years old, oil of lemon eucalyptus. These may not give you protection that’s as lasting as DDT based repellants but they are definitely safer. Of course mosquito netting is by far the safest alternative. You could also try putting children under the fan as the breeze tends to keep mosquitoes away.
There are a few things you should be careful about when you are using DDT-based repellants. Only apply the repellant to exposed skin – and make sure you do not apply it near sensitive areas like the eyes, the nose or the mouth. Do not over-apply but use just enough. When you want to apply it on the face, don’t do so directly. Always spray or apply it on your palms first then put it on your face. Do not allow these repellants to be anywhere near the reach of children and do not spray where there is food around. When you come indoors, try and wash off the repellant.
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