Summer is one of the best times of the year to enjoy with our children the rest and entertainment they deserve. However, not everything can be beautiful and with summer they also arrive the undesirable bites. Among them, the most common type of bite at this time are those of mosquitoes and horseflies.
Chemical repellents that contain DEET and that are applied to all skin or clothing are usually the most effective, but they are not recommended for children, especially if they are very small. Therefore, some parents try to try other methods such as mosquito bracelets that we can find in several stores, including pharmacies, and that promise to create lasting protection for the little ones.
What do mosquito bracelets wear?
In addition to chemical repellents such as DEET, these types of bracelets usually contain some natural essences such as geraniol, lavender or citronella. The latter is one of the most used essences to repel mosquitoes, but as indicated by the OCU, it evaporates quickly and its effectiveness is low.
The idea is that this type of bracelets radiates citronella or other substances around the user, so that the smell of the natural essence gets scare away mosquitoes. Some of them, such as those of Relec, indicate that they are water resistant and have a duration of up to one month.
Mosquito bracelets are effective or not
The reality is that the effectiveness of this type of products in the protection against mosquito bites not only has not been tested It is quite questionable.
The OCU, without going any further, ensures that the effectiveness of the mosquito bracelets is very low. As they indicate, for a repellent to work it must really be applied throughout the skin and this does not happen in the case of bracelets. Apparently, this type of repellent It only works in a 4cm radius, which means that the bracelet can protect the wrist and maybe the hand, but in no case the whole body.
But it is not the only case, the same happens with other methods such as ultrasound that promise to repel insects. Facua requested in 2011 the withdrawal of such products from the market since its effectiveness in repelling mosquitoes had not been demonstrated for no scientific research; quite the contrary.
How to protect our little ones from bites
The first thing is make sure if there is a high risk of mosquitoes in the place we are going to or not, since we can be using products without a real risk of significant presence of bites.
If we are convinced that it is necessary to use some means, we must take into account the age of the children. In general, It is not recommended to use any type of repellent in babies under two months. Some of them, such as those containing citriodiol or eucalyptus citriodora or icaridine or picaridine, are also not recommended between 6 months and two years of age.
If we decide to use some type of repellent, it is better to apply the product on our hands and then spread it by the baby or child We must also be careful to apply the product on the hands, so that they do not ingest it when putting their hands in their mouths.
It is also a good idea. apply repellents on the outside of small clothes, always trying not to put it on the inside of the clothes.
Use mosquito nets in the windows or even in the child's cart if it is too small, it can also help us avoid undesirable bites in children who are too small to be able to apply mosquito repellent safely.
Images | Disney, ISDIN
In Babies and more | Insect bites in babies and children, what to do and how to prevent them?
