What is the buzz this summer? Mosquitoes!
By Jonathan Dickman, MD, PhD
West End Healthline
With the wet conditions this summer the mosquitoes have now come out in full force! While the little pests can transmit troublesome viral illnesses, the most common result here in Minnesota is an annoying bug bite that is itchy and irritating. Treatment for these itchy bug bites can include ice and over the counter anti-itch creams such as hydrocortisone. What is better than treatment, however, is taking steps to avoid getting bitten by these insects!
There are some parts of your environment that you can control to avoid having mosquito problems. Remove unneeded standing water in your yard as this is where they lay their eggs. Even small changes such as eliminating trash or containers in your yard that collect rainwater can make a difference. For containers you want to keep outside such as bird baths, clean and scrub them once a week. When you are outside, try avoiding times when mosquitos are the most active at dusk or in the evenings. If you are outside during these times, try wearing loose-fitting long sleeve tops and pants. If you want to hang out at an outdoor patio in the evening, fans can be helpful as mosquitoes need still air to land on you. Sitting in an area that has screens or bug net is also effective. Bug nets can also be used to cover strollers to protect kids. All of these methods can help decrease the number of bites feeling the urge to scratch!
While modifying your surroundings to be bug proof is helpful, many people also wonder about sprays they can purchase to decrease bug bites and how to use them. There are two main types of sprays, one for the skin and one for the clothes. Permethrin is the one chemical you can only use on your clothes. Some clothes can be impregnated with permethrin and wearing these items are a durable way to decrease the number of insects biting you. For everything else you wear, you can purchase permethrin and spray it on your clothing and it will keep bugs away for a couple of clothes washing cycles. Spraying permethrin onto your clothes is a good idea to complete before doing buggy activities such as camping.
Other bug sprays can be used on the skin and clothes and the active ingredients for these sprays should include one of the following: DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, 2-undecanone, oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-methane-diol. Of note, sprays containing the last 2 ingredients should not be used on children under 3 years old. Many people use these sprays all over their clothes and skin, but note that for children you should consider applying the spray to your hands and then apply to their skin. You should apply sunscreen first (if needed for your activity) before applying bug spray. These sprays can be safely used on the skin and clothes to decrease your chance of being bit this summer.
Enjoy the rest of summer without having to endure itchy bug bites. Remember to look around your home and yard and explore ways to reduce your mosquito burden such as decreasing the amount of standing water. Consider applying permethrin on your clothes before going camping and using bug sprays. In addition to reducing mosquito bites, this will also reduce the number of tick bites you get when going outside. This will all help you enjoy the outdoors without bugging out!
Jonathan Dickman, MD, PhD is a family physician at Allina Health United Family Physicians, 233 Grand Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55102, 651-241-5200