Is mosquito repellent safe for babies?

What is a Mosquito Repellent?

A mosquito repellent is a substance used for keeping away the mosquitoes and prevent biting human beings. It works to evaporate on the skin to block the smelling sense of mosquitoes and prevent them from finding the target.

A mosquito repellent is an agent that protects the body against mosquito bites and hence saves us from many viral diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, etc. We can use mosquito repellent on our skin, clothes, and other surfaces that discourage mosquito bites to save us from them.

Different types of mosquito repellents are available such as mosquito coils, mosquito repellent lotions, mosquito repellent sprays that you can use for keeping away the mosquitoes.

Is Mosquito Repellent Safe for Babies?

Mosquito repellent is available in different forms, some of them are safe for babies, but some have harmful effects on the baby’s health. Mosquito coils emit dangerous smoke that is not good for a baby’s health and can create lungs problems in younger babies.

Mosquito lotion or cream may also cause allergy on baby’s skin if it contains a high percentage of DEET that is an effective ingredient to keep away the mosquitos and other insects.

Here is a list of mosquito repellents that are safe or not safe for your babies:

Mosquito Coils:

Mosquito coils are flattened incense used to emit mosquito repellent smoke for keeping away the mosquitoes. The use of mosquito coils is good but never use this mosquito repellent for your baby because the smoke is very harmful to younger babies and can cause respiratory diseases.

The smoke emitted from these mosquito coils contains carbon monoxide and other toxic fumes that can be very harmful to your bay’s health. If your baby has any respiratory problems, this smoke can aggravate the condition that may lead to some serious diseases.

According to research, the smoke emitted from a mosquito coil has the same effect as the smoke from a cigarette and can cause lungs problems in younger babies.

Mosquito Repellent Lotions:

Mosquito repellent lotions not only keep away the mosquitos but also many other flies and harmful insects. So many mothers like to apply mosquito repellent lotions to their babies for keeping them safe from mosquito bites. 

It is easy to apply and more effective than mosquito coils but the use of mosquito lotions may cause allergy to the sensitive skin of your baby because these lotions contain DEET, Picaridin, or IR3535. Due to this effective ingredient in lotions, the doctors do not recommend these lotions for babies; that has 30% of DEET, Picaridin, or IR3535.

According to research, Picaridin is safe for babies older than two months and remains effective for two hours in keeping away the mosquitoes. But never apply these lotions on the areas around the eyes and mouth because they can cause allergies in these areas.

You should check your baby’s skin before the employment of this mosquito repellent lotion so that there may not be an allergic issue on the skin. Do not apply any mosquito repellent lotion on the skin of babies younger than two months because the skin is too sensitive and can cause rashes or allergies.

Mosquito Repellent Liquid Vaporizers and Mosquito Repellent Mats

Mosquito repellent liquid vaporizers and mats are used at homes for repelling insects, flies, and mosquitoes. They are safe and convenient to use, so people prefer these mosquito repellents as compare to mosquito coils or lotions.

These repellents emit heat for evaporating the insect repellents into a limited area and use allethrin, prallethrin, and permethrin for repelling the insects. These mosquito repellents are safe in use for babies and do not cause any allergic issues in them. 

Allethrin may have some toxic effects when it comes to contact with your baby’s skin but it is less toxic than the ingredients used in other repellents. These mosquito repellents do not have any toxins and do not cause inhalation or skin problems in babies.

Use these mats and liquid vaporizers to keep away mosquitoes from your baby or when the baby is not in the room. Keep these mosquito repellents away from your baby bed and plug them in near the door or window at the entry point of mosquitoes.

Mosquito Repellent Sprays:

Mosquito repellent sprays have the same ingredients as present in mosquito vaporizers and the toxicity level of these sprays is also similar to mosquitoes because they also contain allethrin for keeping away the mosquitoes.

Mosquito sprays work faster than mosquito vaporizers and this is due to the use of active ingredients used in insecticides such as dichloromethane or methylene chloride.

The use of these mosquito repellent sprays is not safe for babies because some sprays may contain harmful chemicals which may harm the baby’s health.

Mosquito Nets and Mosquito Bats:

Mosquito nets are safer than all other mosquito repellents such as lotions, coils, sprays, and mats because these nets do not contain any harmful chemicals. These nets are available in different sizes according to your requirements.

Electric mosquito bats are also safer in use but you need to keep these repellents away from your baby’s reach. You should use these repellents when you are in the room with your baby for keeping your baby safe and away from any harmful effects.

Mosquito nets are great and easy to use for repelling mosquitoes away from your babies without worrying about any harmful effects.

Conclusion

Mosquitos are found everywhere and cause reddish bumps, allergy on the skin, many viral diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and many others. Although putting physical barriers in homes, they find ways to house and create trouble for babies.

Mosquito repellents are agents which keep your babies safe from mosquito bites and the allergic effects of mosquito bites. Different types of mosquito repellents are available in markets. Some of the mosquito repellents out of these repellents are harmful to your babies; mosquito sprays, mosquito coils, mosquito lotions. But some mosquito repellents are safe such as mosquito repellent nets and mosquito bats.