Are You Choosing the Right Bug Repellent?

Do you enjoy any sort of outdoor activity like camping, hiking, swimming or simply playing in the park? Do you take a few minutes before you head out to consider what sort of protection you might need? Many of us don't. However, how we assess the need for protection and choose the right protection from various bug bites can make a world of difference!
 
A Word About Zika Virus

•  Carried by Aedes mosquitoes that range across about 30 U.S. states in the summertime
• Though the current Zika outbreak has been concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) is urging pregnant women and their partners to take strong precautions against mosquito bites.

Main concerns: can cause severe brain damage in newborns and potentially neurological disorders in adults (eg. Guillain-Barre).

Protection Against Zika Virus
Choose a repellent with: Picaridin (20 percent), IR3535 (20 percent), DEET (20-30 percent)

• Choose a concentration based on the time you plan to spend outdoors. Percentage recommendations change with age somewhat, (children: Picaridin and IR3535 (20 percent), DEET (7-30 percent).

Additional Measures:

• No repellent is 100% effective, so take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
• Cover up with pants and long sleeves when possible, especially if you need protection from both sun and mosquitoes.
• Wash your hands after applying repellent; wash repellent-coated skin at the end of the day

Scientists have generally found bug repellents to be safe for pregnant women and their unborn children. The risk of Zika infection is far more serious than side effects of the chemical repellents, provided you use them as directed.

Other things to consider:

• Don’t travel to places where active transmission of Zika is possible
• Read the current CDC recommendations
• If your partner could have the Zika virus, use protection to avoid sexual transmission
  

Chemicals in most Bug Repellents
EWG scientists have ranked repellents in order of effectiveness against the Aedes mosquito thought to be the primary Zika virus carrier:

Most effective

• DEET (20-30 percent concentration)
• Picaridin (20 percent concentration)
• IR 3535 (20 percent concentration)

In laboratory conditions, these repellents offer strong protection from the Aedes mosquito for at least four hours. It’s important to reapply after swimming and sweating.  

Less effective

• Oil of lemon eucalyptus  

Not effective

• Vitamin B1 patches   
• Essential oils
  

Some essential oils may work for short periods, but others are ineffective against Aedes mosquitoes. Due to the serious risks posed by Zika, EWG does not recommend blends of essential oils for people at risk of mosquito-borne infection. There’s also West Nile and Lyme disease (carried by the bacterium on deer ticks) to consider.

Picaridin

•  In efficacy testing it performs like DEET, appearing to repel a wide range of pests (Badolo 2004, Barnard 2004, Carroll 2010, Consumer Reports 2010)
• WHO recommends Picaridin, along with DEET and IR3535, for protection against mosquitoes that carry diseases (WHO 2012)
• EPA registration data indicate that Picaridin at a concentration of 20 percent is effective against mosquitoes and ticks for 8 to 14 hours and for 3.5 to 8 hours at a concentration of 10 percent
  
• Picaridin does not carry the same neurotoxicity concerns as DEET but has not been tested as much over the long term
  

IR3535

• › Like DEET, IR3535 may dissolve or damage plastics
  
• › 10 to 30 % IR3535 to repel biting insects and ticks (Merck 2013).   Consumer Reports tests found 20% IR3535 was slightly less effective than 15 to 30 % DEET in repelling Aedes mosquitoes
  
• Consumer Reports found that it performed as well as DEET against deer ticks and Culex mosquitoes that sometimes carry West Nile virus (Consumer Reports 2010)
  

DEET

• DEET’s effectiveness at preventing bites is approached by only a few other repellent ingredients.
  
• › If used as directed, DEET is considered safe by many public health organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and WHO (AAP 2005, CDC 2013D, EPA 1998, Schutze 2013, WHO 2012).
  
•  Is known to irritate the eyes and in intense doses may induce neurological damage (Abdel-Rahman et al 2001, ATSDR 2004, Corbel et al. 2009).
  
• In very rare cases DEET has been reported to impair the nervous system, with symptoms including seizures, tremors and slurred speech, most often after exposure to high concentrations of the chemical (ATSDR 2004, Briassoulis 2001)
  
• In addition, DEET gives off a distinct odor and can damage plastic, rubber and vinyl on a variety of gear including clothing, backpacks, glasses, watches and cameras (Schutze 2013)
  

What to look for in a good Bug Repellent

• › According to the available scientific literature, when you really need protection, your best bets are products made with active ingredients that have been registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and approved by the CDC
  
• When a company registers a bug repellent, it must provide EPA with technical information that shows that the chemical is effective against mosquitoes or ticks or both
  
• EPA must approve any marketing claims that assert that the repellent works for a particular length of time
  

Tests have found that these four registered and approved repellent chemicals offer a high level of protection from a variety of biting insects and ticks and have good safety profiles:

• ›Picaridin
  
• IR3535
  
• DEET
  
• ›Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus and its synthetic derivative PMD
  

› Beware when using any of these repellent chemicals: you must follow basic guidelines to avoid overexposure. These are strong chemicals. Some should not be used on infants and young children.

What About Botanicals?

• › Many of these products contain allergens in highly concentrated forms
  
• › Effectiveness varies widely
  
• › The Environmental Protection Agency does not require registration and testing of these botanicals for effectiveness or safety, so there is not much data to confirm or contradict advertising claims
  
• › Consumers have no assurance that the product actually works. That is why the only botanically-derived ingredient the CDC recommends is Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus/PMD, which has been registered with the EPA and undergone efficacy testing
  

Oil of Eucalyptus Oil/PMD

• › Trade name for the repellent that originated as an extract of the eucalyptus tree native to Australia
  
• Some testing has shown that concentrations of 20 to 26 percent PMD may perform as well as 15 to 20 percent DEET against both mosquitoes and ticks (Barnard 2004, Consumer Reports 2010)
  
• PMD’s maximum protection time against mosquitoes and ticks is shorter than DEET’s, according to EPA documents
  

Citronella Controversy?
Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) argued that citronella may contain a chemical called methyl eugenol, which has demonstrated carcinogenic behaviour when fed to rats. However, Methyl eugenol is an organic compound that occurs in many plants including: rose, basil, nutmeg, clove, tea tree, tarragon and bay leaf. On average, it's estimated that Europeans consume about 0.19 mg/kg per day, yet we are not warned about the dangers of these spices in our food or the toxicity of skin care with rose and tea tree.

PMRA currently “makes no distinction between naturally occurring chemicals and synthetic chemicals when assessing their risks.” This guideline doesn’t account for how chemicals behave within a plant and dismisses the conclusions of the leading experts on essential oil toxicology. Citronella appears to have chemopreventive activity. Also the fact that anticarcinogens constitute over 60 per cent of the oil while methyl eugenol is only found at 0–1.7%, "...we do not consider that citronella oil presents a material risk of carcinogenicity.”

An Ounce of Prevention…

• Give Bugs a Smaller Target: wear long-sleeved shirts with high collars and bandanas. When walking in tall grass or brush, tuck pants into socks to keep ticks and chiggers off your body. Use nets and or fans over outdoor eating areas and place nets over strollers and baby carriers. Send your kids to camp with mosquito netting for their bunks.
• Get rid of mosquito breeding grounds. Drain standing water around your home. If you live in a place with a high tick concentration, make a wood chip barrier between your yard and wooded areas, mow the lawn, clean up brush regularly and follow the CDC guidelines for reducing your yard’s tick population
• Know Your Enemy: If you are in a place that presents few risks for pest-borne diseases and don’t mind getting a few bug bites, your choice of repellent may not be that critical.  On the other hand, if you need to protect yourself from Lyme disease, West Nile or other serious mosquito- and tick-transmitted diseases, your repellent and other preventive actions are serious decisions.
  

Note: Talk to your Naturopathic Doctor today about getting assessed and treated if needed, and as always talk to your health care provider before beginning any new medication or supplement. This information is not meant to replace the advice/guidance of a medical professional, nor should it be acted upon by individuals unsupervised by the appropriate healthcare provider.