With the warmth of the last summer days and fall months upon us, insect and bug bites are in full force! Mosquitoes, biting flies, and tick bites can make children miserable. Here are a few tips to keep your child protected:
- Don’t use scented soaps, perfumes, or hair sprays on your child when outdoors.
- Be careful around stagnant water – that’s where mosquitoes love to congregate and breed.
- If possible, dress your child in breathable cotton, long sleeves, and long pants. This is especially important at dusk and dawn when insects are more likely to be out. Be sure to use protective clothing when hiking in wooded areas
One common way to protect your child from biting insects is to use insect repellents. However, it’s important that insect repellents are used safely and correctly. There are 3 main options when it comes to insect repellents. These include:
- DEET
- Picaridin
- Essential oils/oil of lemon eucalyptus
DEET is a safe repellant. It is the number one recommended insect repellent for kids and adults. When using this product, it is key to remember:
- Babies under the age of 2 months should NOT use DEET
- For children from 2 months to 2 years: use one application a day with a DEET concentration of less than 10%
- For kids older than 2 years, use DEET 10-30% with no more than 3 applications a day
- DEET 10% provides protection for about 2-3 hours and 30% protects for about 6-8 hours
Picaridin:
- This was approved in the U.S. in 2005. It is an alternative to DEET and may work just as well as DEET.
- A 20% concentration can be used in children as young as 6 months old
- It is odorless compared to DEET, which makes it one of our favorites!
- It is thought to have duration of action similar to 10% DEET
Essential oils/ Oil of lemon, eucalyptus:
- Essential oils containing citronella, cedar, eucalyptus, and soybean have around 2 hours of protection.
- The safety of essential oils is still up in the air, so our preferred protection is DEET or Picaridin.
When you are dealing with insects or bugs, it is best to avoid combo sunscreen/insect repellent products because sunscreen needs to be applied every 2 hours and insect repellants should NOT be applied that often.
It is also key that you avoid using the application near the eyes and on the hands. We recommend spraying repellent into the palm of your hand and then rubbing it on the body of a child.
RELATED CONTENT: When bug and spider bites may be something more serious- https://activekidmd.com/spider-bites/
