Anita Joshi is a board certified pediatrician and mother of two has been practicing in Crawfordsville since 1998. Crawfordsville Pediatric Center is located at 1901 Lafayette Ave. Suite 100, Crawfordsville. She can be reached at 765-361-3086.
Those miserable mosquitoes, terrible ticks and ferocious fleas can make kids and adults want to run inside. The best way to protect your children from these nasty critters that can spread disease is to use insect repellent.
There are a few do’s and don’ts when it comes to use. It is important to know that you should never use any insect repellent on children younger than 2 months of age. You should never spray repellent on any open cut or wounds and never spray insect repellent directly onto your child’s face. Always wash your child off with soap and water to remove any repellent.
The most effective chemical repellents are DEET and permethrin. DEET is found in popular products like Off and Cutter and range in strength from 10-30 percent. Their usual time of effectiveness varies according to their strength from two to five hours. Permethrin is a spray that is used to pretreat clothing and tents. It is effective against ticks and mosquitos and I often recommend it for camping, backpacking and hiking trips. The instructions must carefully followed and it should never be applied directly to exposed skin. Another effective chemical repellent is Picardin, it is sometimes more difficult to find, but I recommend this to people who have experienced allergic reactions to DEET. It comes in spray and cream form and can be used safely in children.
There are other ways to help cut down on exposure to insects, get rid of any pools of stagnant water, wear lightweight long sleeve shirts and socks if you are camping. Avoid wearing perfume or highly scented soaps or creams on your skin. Use mosquito netting over baby carriers or strollers to help keep your infants from becoming a tasty mosquito snack. Always remember to check your child for ticks when they come indoors and remove them if needed. If you feel your child has been bitten and they are experiencing any symptoms of illness or significant redness and swelling that is unusual around the bite call your pediatrician.
