[BlueRose]

While I was in India instead of using mosquito nets, which are hard to pack and bulky, I used a plug in type of repellant. You plug it into the socket and it puts out a mist which repells mosquitos. I am going to be travelling again at least in SEA in the next year. Does anyone know about the health effects of this? What I am asking is about any known or speculated health risks from these.
This was very handy and light weight and I would like to use it again and yet be free from worry. Thanks for any replies.

[larki]

Someone told me that if you had a fan (stong) on you the mossies would not be able to bite you.    
Was he pulling my leg????   He said they used that method for 3 months.
I don't know?
I think I will still get a net, just to be safe.

[digital drifter]

Yes, a  fan does work to some extent.

[Seventies'Neil]

larki, on May 8 2006, 06:01 AM, said:

Someone told me that if you had a fan (stong) on you the mossies would not be able to bite you.    
Was he pulling my leg????   He said they used that method for 3 months.
I don't know?
I think I will still get a net, just to be safe.

A fan can help, but do you really want to sleep or can you sleep under a force 10 gale,,,,,,,,,,,
Like Blue Rose said those small plug in gadgets work,or if you're going out in the evening leave a coil in your room whilst you're out.
Wrists & ankles are their main targets.

[jyotirmoy]

A variety of sprays are alos available. Before going out in the evening spray ur room, close windows(if any). The resident mosquitoes will be finished. Then use the repellants at night while u sleep to prevent more mosquitoes from coming in....

[BlueRose]

Yes, those mosquito coils! I remember in hampi the mosquitos are very active. What I did was make sure to keep spray with me ( I used a product called burts Bees, it has a lot of lemon grass type stuff) but whatever, just keep whatever you are using with you especially at dusk. You can ask the restaraunt to light a coil and place it under the table on the ground, yes under the table. Mosquitos do go for the ankles and feet.
I took no malaria med my entire trip and I was just fine. That is just me and what I did though. I would not do the same however, if I was in Africa say...

I am still questioning the effects of breathing in a mosquito repellant on a long term basis though. The fan and the plug in work quite well. We know that deet is quite toxic, so what about other repellants?

[crvlvr]

BlueRose, on May 7 2006, 07:57 PM, said:

You plug it into the socket and it puts out a mist which repells mosquitos. I am going to be travelling again at least in SEA in the next year. Does anyone know about the health effects of this?

I used the same  I think it was called "All out". Seemed to work well if all the doors and windows of the room was shut.  Don't know of the ill effects it has to health. allthough I suspect anything that kills mosquitoes can;t be good for humans.

[Casey]

I agree Yogagal.  My first trip to India I believed all that said to bring DEET as the repellant found in India didn't really work well.  My most recent trip I forgot the repellant and was happy to find out that Odomos worked quite well and was really cheap and it didn't smell bad.  Other people I met who had been to mosquito voracious places also recommended the Odomos.

Edited by Casey, 09 May 2006 - 02:39 AM.

[wanderer22]

There's a company called Orvis that sells clothing treated with a long lasting repellent. Has anyone ever tried this  to see how well it works?  This is a link to their site for "buzz off" clothing.. Buzz off

   Room fans do help, but only until the power goes out, then you get eaten in the dark.  

   Wanderer22

[Hyderabadi]

Last time I was in Inida, DEET (Off! Deep Woods) worked pretty well for me, though I did not know anything about it's toxicity then. Odomos simply brings back too many memories of hot, greasy/sticky, restless, smelly nights, atleast for me.

[larki]

Ok I will not get a mossie net, and buy odomos.    But where do you buy it....in the states or India?????  in Delhi???


Are there any statistics on what area the mossies like the most..... ie  mountains, beaches, Delhi vers Bombay??

Thanks

[Hyderabadi]

Here's a PDF file I found on Google : mosquitoe + bite + prevention.

http://www.travmed.c...revention-0.pdf

( http://72.14.207.104...us&ct=clnk&cd=1 )

On DEET from the above article:

DEET Toxicity/Safety
It is not known exactly how many adverse reactions might be caused by DEET, but
millions of people (including about one-third of the U.S. population) have used
DEET over the last 40 years without significant problems. To meet newer, more
stringent safety requirements, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed
a comprehensive re-evaluation of DEET in 1998 and concluded: “As long as
consumers follow label directions and take proper precautions, insect repellents containing
DEET do not present a health concern.” (See summary on next page).
There have been very few reports in the medical literature of major adverse
effects associated with DEET. These adverse effects include:
Dermatological side effects—Skin reactions to DEET are exceedingly rare;
they include itching, hives, blisters, or redness. Contact with the mouth can cause
transient burning or stinging of the lips, tongue, and oral mucosa. Between 1961
and 1999, there were 12 cases of bullous irritant contact dermatitis, reported solely
in military personnel.
Neurological side effects—Concerns over the potential neurological toxicity
of DEET are based on a small number of case reports in the medical literature.
Between 1961 and 2000, there were only 23 reported cases of possible neurological
symptoms associated with DEET use. Of these:
• 6 were deliberate ingestions (3 died).
• 17 cases had behavioral changes (14 resolved, 3 died).
– Details of these cases were often poorly documented, making causal relationships
difficult to establish.
– Most cases reported “heavy, frequent, or whole-body” application.
– There was no correlation seen between the severity of side effects and the concentration
of DEET.
In some of these cases, symptoms could not be positively attributed to DEET.
Seizures, for example, in children could have been coincidental with a viral infection.
The potential of greater DEET toxicity in children has been a concern because
their thinner skin and greater body-surface-area-to-weight ratio theoretically
could enhance DEET absorption. This concern, however, has not been upheld by
scientific study, and neurological toxicity in children has not been substantiated

[WonderWomanUSA]

[font=Palatino Linotype] I always take Cutter's (in stick form) when I go to India. This is a mild DEET product and it really does work for me.... also it takes up less space than a spray and only goes where I stroke it on.

I tried some sort of "jungle juice" (100% DEET) one year, and that did burn my skin, so I stopped using it.

Ahd yes, I sleep covered, with the fan on. The mossies can't land in the breeze created by a hard-working Indian fan! I guess they go to someone else's room when I'm around.

Mossie coils burning while I slept gave me a terrible cough, so I leaned to burn one while I was out to dinner, and douse it when bedtime came around. I've never tried the Good Knight product, but there are a lot of folks who swear by it.

In the end, I think you have to try several different methods and do what works best for you.

Day or Night?

Remember that the mossies that carry dengue fever bite in the day time. If you see a mossie in the morning, make sure you use your repellant.

[Hyderabadi]

yogagal, on May 9 2006, 11:54 PM, said:

Hyderabadi, Deep Woods Off was what I brought with me and I think it ATTRACTED mosquitos instead of repelled them!  And Odomos must have changed their formulation because it is neither greasy nor smelly.  Repellent with DEET actually feels greasier to me on my skin.

Larki, I am sure you can find Odomos anywhere where you will be.  Remember that you will find little store front pharmacies in India...well, not really a "pharmacy" like you are used to in the US, but a man or woman behind a counter in a store front selling pills and what not.  It comes in a blue colored box with white letters.   Also, I think if you look at the CDC website under malaria it will probably tell you something about mosquitoes in a certain region, if I remember correctly.  If not, then I am hallucinating from DEET use....

I'll try both, Off! Deep Woods and Odomos this time and will report back here.

Odomos is sold everywhere. Even where beedis are sold,thesedays I'm told!

[cyberhippie]

After using all sorts of creams and potions I settle for Godrej Mosfree lotion or Good Knight lotion way better than Odomos and deet. The new formula for Odomos is better than the old "chip lard in a tube" but Mosfree/Goodnight is still easier to apply.
Odomos is generally easier to find though!

[larki]

Hyderabadi: Thanks for the picture of the odomos. I will try that stuff out.

Cyberhippie: Is odomos harder to apply??

[cyberhippie]

Yeah it is slightly harder to apply than the others I mentioned, Odomos mark one was horrible like smearing grease on yourself.

Another tip if your staying some wheer for a month or two, is to go to a cloth shop and buy some petticaot lining gauze, and line your windows with it it acts just like a mossie screen and is very cheap!!

[justmakebelieve]

Just another comment on the DEET debate

- you shouldn't use DEET above a 30% concentration on your skin. 100% must have been horrible!

- someone mentioned clothes that repel mosquitos - the 100% DEET stuff is used to spray on clothes. There are various types, I think some you spray on every time your wear them, to some that impregnate clothes for something like 60 washes. I know a lot of people who swear by using it on ther clothes - especially if you're wearing thin clothes that mossies may bite through.

[Casey]

I didn't find Odomos any worse that any type of moisturizer that I have used.  It comes in a cream form and goes on like any other cream in a tube substance.  Perhaps, I am used to slathering my skin in stuff and am immune to the greasy feel.  Thanks for the picture!!