All the prep and stress of getting out your front door is over. Now it’s fun, sun, and bugs.
Wait. What?
Oh yes, wherever your journeys take you, you can be sure that pesky critters will be flying or crawling around, biting, stinging and more…so much more.
Some bugs carry certain diseases, such as West Nile virus, malaria, dengue and others. Whether you’re in Napa Valley, the Sahara or the Alps, there are steps you can take to avoid infection.
- Use an insect repellent on exposed skin to repel mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and other arthropods. EPA-registered repellents include products containing DEET (N,N-diethylmetatoluamide) and picaridin (KBR 3023). DEET concentrations of 30% to 50% are effective for several hours. Picaridin, available at 7% and 15 % concentrations, needs more frequent application.
- DEET formulations as high as 50% are recommended for both adults and children over 2 months of age. Protect infants less than 2 months of age by using a carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit. There are DEET-free solutions available, but check with the pediatrician for a final recommendation. Protection against mosquito bites is the goal.
- When using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and then repellent. Repellent should be washed off at the end of the day before going to bed. Put repellent only on exposed skin and/or clothing and don’t apply repellent to open or irritated skin. Don’t let children handle the repellent. Rather than spraying it directly on children, adults should apply it to their own hands then rub it on the children. Don’t get it near a child’s mouth, eyes or hands and don’t use much around a child’s ears.
- Wear long-sleeved shirts which should be tucked in, long pants, and hats to cover exposed skin. When you visit areas with ticks and fleas, wear boots, not sandals, and tuck your pants into your socks.
- Inspect your body and clothing for ticks during outdoor activity and at the end of the day. Wear light-colored or white clothing so ticks can be more easily seen. Removing ticks right away can prevent some infections.
- Apply permethrin-containing (e.g., Permanone) or other insect repellents to clothing, shoes, tents, mosquito nets, and other gear for greater protection. Permethrin is not labeled for use directly on skin. Check label for use around children. Most repellent is generally removed from clothing and gear by a single washing, but permethrin-treated clothing is effective for up to 5 washings.
- Be aware that mosquitoes that transmit malaria are most active during twilight periods (dawn and dusk or in the evening). Stay in air-conditioned or well-screened housing, and/ or sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net. Bed nets should be tucked under mattresses and can be sprayed with a repellent if not already treated with an insecticide.
- Keep baby carriers covered with a mosquito net.
- Daytime biters include mosquitoes that transmit dengue and chikungunya viruses, and sand flies that transmit leishmaniasis.
Don’t forget to come back for Part 3, where we talk about more fun times for traveling parents.
If my teenager told me, her pork-lovin’ mama, that she was a vegan, I’d slam my sausage down and tell her to glue her fanny to a chair until I got a dictionary.
