Health & Fitness

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Q) I’m heading out camping with my family.  What are my options for insect repellents?

A) It seems as if every year we have new choices to help protect ourselves from the insatiable appetites of mosquitoes and their like. Growing up, the only option was Deet and it is still acknowledged as the most effective repellent available in Canada. It has been in use since 1954 and is safe when used as labelled.  

In general, Deet in a concentration  of up to 10 per cent can be used safely in children from six months up to two years of age once a day. This should provide excellent protection for up to three hours. Children from age two to 12 can use this same concentration up to three times a day. Those over age 12 can use higher strengths which provide a longer duration of protection (with little difference in effectiveness), but there’s not much benefit to going over 30 per cent (which provides six hours of protection).  

Note, these protection times vary greatly depending on a number of factors such as sweating, etc. The golden rule, when you start to get bitten, reapply if you’re still allowed. 

Many people dislike using Deet since it is a pesticide. A product can’t be used on children under the age of three due to a lack of safety data. 

A new patch containing Vitamin B1 is now being sold under the trade name Insect Defend Patch.  It is supposed to slowly release the vitamin into your skin and from there, it is eventually excreted through your pores. Combined with the chemicals our body naturally excretes, it claims to produce an invisible odourless shield around our body that discourages mosquitoes from biting, although they may still land on you. 

It takes two hours to “kick in” and requires you to be at least in motion for the right mix of chemicals to be released. The manufacturer claims it will work from 24 to 36 hours, two patches can be applied at once if necessary (ideally to the shoulder blades or upper arm) and it is safe to use at any age.  

While we have not seen any clinical data supporting it, it has been cleared for sale by Health Canada and was tested for effectiveness at the University of Guelph. Feedback we have received from patients thus far has been positive as well. 

Another great alternative is soybean oil (Bite Blocker, etc.) which can be used at any age and provides up to four hours of protection. Another slightly less effective natural option is lemon eucalyptus oil (Off Botanicals, etc.) which can be applied twice a day and repels mosquitoes for up to two hours.  

Unfortunately, take note, if you’re travelling to an area where mosquito-borne diseases are a risk (e.g. malaria), use a Deet product as it has been proven to be effective against these types of mosquitoes.

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Saturday, July 24, 2010