Good insect bite
prevention begins from the inside out. Be sure to take
B-vitamins consistently.
Most insects
are repelled by the presence of vitamin B-1 in human sweat.
Effective vitamin
therapy varies
according to age and general health, but a multiple vitamin B
supplement twice
a day with
meals should be adequate as follows:
For most adults
and teenagers: A B-50 multivitamin that contains 50 mg of
B-6 and other B vitamins.
For children ages
7 to 12: A B-25 multivitamin that contains 25 mg of B-6 and
other B vitamins.
Talk to your
naturopath about doses for children under 6.
To make sure you are
taking enough vitamin B to repel insects, check your urine. If
it turns yellow,
you'll know you are
taking enough to keep bugs away. While it is unusual to overdose
on B-vitamins,
check with your
physician if you have any significant chronic diseases or are
taking other medications.
If you like gadgets,
the FC-50 electronic flea and tick repeller manufactured by
Innotek, repels insects
within a few meters
via ultrasound. Although it is designed to be clipped to a dog's
collar, soldiers in
Iraq have
successfully used the FC-50 to repel sand flies. In addition,
Innotek has received reports that
the FC-50 has
been effective in repelling ticks as well - something to keep in
mind if you live in areas
where deer ticks
create Lyme disease concerns. The FC-50 is the size of a
cigarette lighter, can be
clipped to
clothing and runs on a watch battery. For more information,
visit
www.innotek.net or call
(800) 826-5527.
The cost is $25.
DEET is an extremely
effective deer tick repellent, however, it is a synthetic
chemical and a poison.
Absorbed
quickly into the body and eliminated through urine, DEET works
by affecting the mosquito's
target sensors and
confusing the insect's sense of direction.
But DEET has been
associated with a variety of health concerns. Many institutions,
including the American
Academy of
Pediatrics, have issued safety warnings about the product. DEET
affects the nervous system
and can cause
long-term health problems including memory loss, headaches,
weakness, tremors, shortness
of breath,
joint pain and fatigue. Children are particularly susceptible
because of their developing nervous systems.
With DEET, one
confounding factor is that it sometimes takes years for symptoms
to manifest, making a cause
and effect
relationship difficult to establish. It is also important to
remember that DEET's absorption is increased
three-fold by the
simultaneous application of sunscreen. One study clearly shows
that when a 2.5 percent solution
of DEET was
mixed with oxybenzone, a common sun-blocking agent, DEET
absorption went from 9.6 percent to
30.2 percent.
If you use DEET,
follow these guidelines:
