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Safely Keeping Bugs Away from Baby
Are Insect Repellents Safe for Babies?
By Shannon McKelden
With summer here, the time has come to take Baby outside to explore the world. But summer is also a time for bugs, which can carry diseases, along with just being plain annoying. No one wants to be driven indoors by the threat of stings and bites, and with the help of some savvy experts, that won't happen.
In the United States, mosquito bites are the most common type of insect bites. "Generally, these bites are harmless, just an annoyance," says Dr. Jody A. Levine, head of the Division of Pediatric Dermatology, Children's Hospital at Montefiore. "In unsensitized people, an average bite will produce mild, local irritation – slight stinging and a small red bump. In sensitized people, the reaction can be itching and localized swelling (wheals) that can last from hours to days. Scratching at these bites can cause infection. Full body allergic reaction to mosquito bites is rare."
But more concerning are the diseases that can be transmitted by mosquitoes, which include diseases such as encephalitis (including West Nile encephalitis), malaria, yellow fever and filariasis.
"Mosquitoes can certainly be bothersome," says Joseph M. Conlon, technical advisor of the American Mosquito Control Association. "But their nuisance value is far overshadowed by their capacity to transmit debilitating and deadly diseases. Infants are particularly at risk from these diseases and make up a large number of the victims."
By far the most widely recognized insect repellents on the market today are those containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide). "DEET is the most widely used and most effective bug repellent," Levine says. "It is effective against mosquitoes, biting flies, chiggers, fleas and ticks."
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