By Roy Benaroch, MD
As printed in Around Town Publishing, June 2006
What’s the best and safest way to protect my children from mosquito bites this summer?
Mosquitoes are more than an itchy nuisance. Though uncommon, serious diseases such as West Nile Encephalitis can be spread by mosquito bites. The itchy bites can be scratched open by children, leading to scabbing, scarring, and the skin infection impetigo. As with many medical problems, prevention is the best strategy.
Try to keep your local mosquito population under control by making it more difficult for the insects to breed. Empty any containers of standing water, including tires, empty flowerpots, or birdbaths. Avoid allowing gutters or drainage pipes to hold water.
Biting mosquitoes are most active at dusk, so that’s the most important time to be vigilant with your prevention techniques. Light colored clothing is less attractive to mosquitoes. Though kids won’t want to wear long pants in the summer, keep in mind that skin covered with clothing is protected from biting insects. A T-shirt is better than a tank top, and a tank top is better than no shirt at all!
There are several safe and effective mosquito repellants on the market. The best-studied and most commonly available active ingredient is DEET. This chemical has been used for decades as an insect repellant and is very safe. Though rare allergies are always possible with any product applied to the skin, almost all children do fine with DEET. I suggest using a concentration of about 10%, which provides effective protection for about two hours. It should be reapplied after swimming. Children who have used DEET (or any other insect repellant) should take a bath or shower at the end of the day.
Two other agents that are effective insect repellants are picaridin (the active ingredient in Cutter Advance) and oil of lemon eucalyptus. These have no advantage over DEET, but some families prefer them because of their more pleasant smell and feel. Other products, including a variety of botanical ingredients, do not work.