Question:
Does anyone know of an insect repellent that is safe to use on children
under 2 years of age? All the ones I've looked at say
"not for use on babies/toddlers" on the label. Suggestions would be most
welcome - we are due to visit my in-laws at their summer cottage and the
bugs there can be bad at times, especially when it's hot and humid in
the summer.
Answer:
>> Does anyone know of an insect repellent that is safe to use on children
>> under 2 years of age? ...
The bottom line is that no highly effective repellent has been found that
is considered safe enough to justify its use on the skin of infants and
toddlers. One might reevaluate the risk if there were a particularly severe
insect-related health problem, such as in travel to the tropics. For
example, DDT-impregnated netting has saved many lives in malaria-prone
areas, far outweighing possible long-term health considerations.
You can also try using DEET on clothing that has limited contact with the
skin, such as an outer jacket. Or use area protectors such as citronella
in low-wind situations.
>I'm wary of the chemicals (most notably--DEET) it most comercial
>bug-repellants. I found one at my local health-food store called Jungle
>Juice which is all plant-oils (clove, pepermint, and lemon-oil) which
>works great. Leaves you smelling like a spice-cabinet, but works!
Be careful to check that herbal repellents do not contain pennyroyal oil or
plant. While probably quite effective, pennyroyal is *extremely* toxic to
the human liver. I found pennyroyal on the ingredient list of an herbal
repellant that we ordered from a major catalog company (Smith & Hawken,
IIRC). It's also important to watch for the possibility of pennyroyal
contamination of spearmint and peppermint sources--two infants died due
mistaken identity of plants used in "mint tea".
Even with peppermint oil, you'd want to be sure that the child could not
consume much of it orally. Tastes of toddlers can be very unpredictable
(e.g. they have been known to guzzle large quantities of such substances as
gasoline).
