It is mosquito season as I sit on my porch watching these mini-vampires hover over me and my laptop. The problem with mosquito bites is: Transmission of infections:
Allergic reactions:
So, what are our options for preventing mosquitoes from biting us? The Scientific data on treatments is scarce and most scientific studies have taken place in the laboratory as “arm in the cage” testing rather than in the field as a real life scenario. Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 100 mg (1000x the usual daily dose of Vitamin B1) of this water-soluble vitamin once a day can repel mosquitoes from biting for several hours. According to Stewart Harvey, PhD from Salt Lake City, “the repellent effect is attributed to a foul odor, undetected by humans, unless one smells the bottle. Biting insects, which are attracted by carbon dioxide, are repelled. Mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, and chiggers are repelled. It is not known whether arachnids are repelled, although deer ticks seem to be.” Some of the advantages are less expensive, does not rub off on clothes, well tolerated and non-oily. Thiamine might not properly enter the body in people who have liver problems or drink a lot of alcohol. An overdose of over 1000 mg of Vitamin B1 could lead to skin rash, allergic reaction, agitation, insomnia, or heart palpitations. The only study I found that showed Vitamin B1 did not work was published in 1969. DEET (N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide): This compound was developed by the U.S. Army after jungle warfare in WWII. For the past 60 years, this chemical has been effective and with a strong safety record. In an article from the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002, reports “DEET-based repellents remain the gold standard of protection under circumstances in which it is crucial to be protected against arthropod bites that might transmit disease.” The chemical is commonly found in mosquito repellents and the duration of action is directly correlated with the concentration. The higher the concentration, the longer the duration of action. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using repellents with DEET concentrations higher than 30% on any child. DEET + Permethrin: For our U.S. military troops, the Department of Defense Insect Repellent System includes DEET-containing repellant applied directly to the skin and permethrin applied to the battle uniform. This prevents arthropod (insects and spiders) bites. The permethrin last longer when applied to the battle uniforms than onto the skin. Picaridin: this synthetic compound repels insects, ticks and chiggers. It was first made available in the 1980s. It was made to resemble the natural compound piperine, which is found in the same group of plants that make black pepper. Picaridin has been widely used as an insect repellent in Europe and Australia, but only since 2005, has it been available in the U.S. Picaridin is available as pump spray, wipes, liquids and aerosols. For more information, go to: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PicaridinGen.html Botanicals
At Family Allergy Asthma & Sinus Care, our goal is to help prevent itching, including itching from bug and mosquito bites. I hope this information helps keep the pesky mosquitoes from dining on you! |
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