Young children react more strongly from bites. Eyelid swelling and lymph node swelling (neck) is common. Adults develp an immunity to mosquitos over time. A few simple precautions should eliminate most bites.
No pesticide can be considered 100 percent safe, especially for children and pregnant women. Use them following all precautions only if you cannot avoid bites any other way. Information: CDC (USA) | EPA (USA)
(N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, also known as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide): The most effective chemical repellents contain DEET to repel mosquitoes, biting flies, black flies, sand flies, ticks, bedbugs, and leeches. DEET is more effective on Aedes than Anopheles. DEET is continually absorbed into the skin, and is too toxic for children or pregnant women. DEET products should never be used on infants! Use 10% (or less) DEET for children and no more than 30% DEET for adults.
DEET contains tuolene, an organic solvent used in paint remover. Swallowing DEET can be fatal. It is absorbed through the skin with side effects of rash, hives, blisters, irritation, and burning. Adults should put it on their own hands, then on their child, avoiding face, hands and cuts. It's even better to spray it on clothing in combination with an insecticide such as NIX, so it is not in direct contact with your skin. Wash it off as soon you go indoors.
Skintastic (7% DEET) is considered safe for children - their kids spray is under 5% DEET. Deep Woods Off is 95%. Muskol spray 24%; Muskol with sunblock 15 9%.
3M Ultrathon, tested by the U.S. military, is a controlled release product as cream (31%) or spray (23%). It works up to 12 hours, and is the equivalent to a 75% concentrate. (Available in the USA at Wal-mart, REI.COM etc.)
Skedaddle from Littlepoint Corp. makes a controlled-release cream (6.5%) that works up to 4 hours and is approved for children.
DEET Plus from Sawyer Products (17.5%) is effective up to 4 hours and other ingredients are effective against other biting flies up to 12 hours. Sawyer Controlled Release 20% DEET lotion was recommended by Colleen from Whitby, Ontario, who had experienced itching from similar products.
Permethrin a synthetic derivative of the chrysanthemum plant, kills both mosquitoes and other biting insects on contact rather than repelling them. Permethrin applied to clothing, camping gear and tents repels and kills ticks, mosquitoes, and other arthropods. It remains effective after repeated laundering. Tuck your pantlegs into boots and spray them both to protect your legs.
Permethrin must not be applied to skin, as it can affect your nervous system in high doses. Although safer than most repellants applied to skin, pregnant women should not use any chemical with warnings like this. (EPA : Permethrin)
30,000 North Americans and Europeans contract malaria each year. In Canada 621 cases were reported in 1995, up 44% from 1994. You no longer need to travel to the Equator to get malaria. In 1996, a woman living in Toronto, who had not travelled and did not live near an airport, contracted malaria. [information reported in The Ottawa Citizen] It sure makes dock fever and two-footitis sound tame doesn't it?!
Although rare in present-day Canada, malaria was a great danger to the men who worked to build the Rideau Waterway in the 1800's. Before the dams were built, the route was swampy and mosquoto infested.
Anopheles quadramaculatus mosquito is the newest and most dangerous mosquito to come to North America. It can carry the protozoan that causes malaria and can spread dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis. They have a peculiar habit of doing a handstand as they bite. Scientists suspect this mosquito infected the woman in Toronto, since the normal summer biters do not carry these diseases.
Anti-malarial drugs decrease the risk of contracting malaria, but it is not a 100% guarantee. 6-8 weeks before departure to a high-risk country, see your doctor, prefereably one who specializes in infectious diseases. Anti-maliaria medicine is taken 1 week before arriving in a high-risk area, during the stay, and for 4 weeks after leaving. The most dangerous type of malaria (falciparum) does not repond to the drug chloroquine anywhere except the Caribbean, Central America west of the Panama Canal and parts of the Middle East. In other areas malaria has developed drug resistance to this drug. You should always check with health authorities for the latest information about high-risk areas before travelling.
Aedes albopictus mosquito carries viruses that spread dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis. They are different from other mosquitoes by attacking during daylight hours, feeding most aggessively at dawn and dusk. They will follow you into the house to continue feeding at night. This mosquite has spread northward each year and now lives and breeds in milder climates such as southern Ontario. The danger of a viral epidemic from this new breed is very real.
Aedes aegypti can transmit yellow fever. It has infested the U.S. sunbelt. Canadians travelling to Africa or South America should get vaccinated against yellow fever. In 1996, tourists who travelled to the Amazon died of yellow fever.
