Infant Insect Repellant & Sunscreen

The Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) has a database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) that rates the safety of chemicals and ingredients in a variety of products, including sunscreen and insect repellant. It might give you some ideas of what the safest products are. EWG also did a report last year on which sunscreens are most effective (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens/summa....
I agree with other posts that the California Baby SPF 30 sunscreen works great, but it is a bit thick and you really have to rub in it well.

My husband found these plastic bands that have the repellant (citronella) in them and can be worn 160 hours if they are sealed air tight. My son and I wear them often (last summer and this spring) and haven't been bitten. They were about $10 for 4 at Target/Walmart. Our brand is called "Bug off". I usually put the band on my son's leg. It's closer to the grass/water and he won't pull it off or put it in his mouth then.

We've not been bitten while wearing them

Try Avon's Skin So Soft Original Bath Oil. It is a great insect repellant and will be gentle on your baby's skin. I get the 5oz spray bottle and refill it from a 24oz bottle. It is also great for spraying around doors and windows to keep ants out. I always worried about using the heavy duty stuff like Raid when my children were young - this has worked great.

I got some from discovery toys. It is called body pals, it is deet free, chemical free all natural. It says on the bottle for ages 6 months and up.

Burt's Bees has some wonderful, natural products. Also, a hint I got from a friend, to keep mosquitoes away from where you are sitting, use original flavored Listerine. (The nasty, yellow stuff.) Put it in a squirt bottle and spray around the area where you are sitting (not on yourself!). She discovered this trick last summer and swears it works like a charm!

We also have a friend who has a pond and they put a small fountain in the middle to keep mosquitoes from breeding. The ripples make it too difficult for them to lay their eggs. I don't know if you can afford, or would even want to put in a fountain, but that's always something to consider too. I'm sure it won't keep the pest away completely anyway! :) Good luck and have a fun summer!

E.

T., I live in Goodrich MI. We live on acerage. I'm assuming you do too. The immediate area around our house, is about 1 acre that we utilize to play and enjoy the outdoors. The mosquitos are vicious to say the least (some years worse than others depending on rainfall volumes). A few years ago, my husband bought some "Cutter Bug Free Backyard". It was under $10.00 (at last summer's prices). You attach it to the end of your hose and spray around your whole yard in the grass, gardens, and in our case, we even sprayed the border of the woods that surrounds our house. Trust me when I tell you this stuff works instantly and last up to one to two months!! It is AMAZING!!! We can go out on any given evening and not a mosquito will be seen. We don't even need insect repellent anymore. My sister lives in TX. Last year they had horrible rains in the summer. The result was a vicious mosquito population. I told her about it, she sprayed her city lot and she too was able to enjoy the outdoors of her home without the need for insect repellent. If I hadn't tried this product myself, I never would have believed the claim. It is a must have!!! Best part?....it's cheap!!

T.,

Whatever you use, get something with no DEET in it.

My suggestions are to go with a product from Avon called Skin so Soft (we've had great success with using up in the Adirondack Mountains of NY since we were kids to keep the mosquitos and black flies off of us).

Another product that I have used on myself and my children is by Burt's Bee's. It's All Natural, Herbal Insect Repellent. You can find it now at most drugstores like CVS, etc. I believe you can find locations that carry it at their web site, www.burtsbees.com

K. Nuttle
Mom to Alex (10), Aaron & Aidan (18 mos)
Michigan

whatever you do I would go all natural. I am going to get the "California Baby" brand sunscreen for my 15mo old daughter as it is all natural and is free of chemicals.

I know there are also chemical free insect replants out there, I just don't know what they are called, go to your local health food store. Harvest Health is a great one if you live in Grand Rapids

Insect Rep - I think I used Skin so Soft and Avon has a product. Look for "family" and "sensitive skin" on the label. Nothing with DEET. Ask your ped for recommendation also since she is so young.

I used a product called Bug Balm when I was pregnant. It's all natural and it works fantastically. I've tried skin so soft- it worked when I was younger but now I still get eaten alive. Since I'm a bug magnet it's taken a lot to find a new product.

We use an insect replelant by Burt's Bees that's all-natural.

www.californiababy.com has WONDERFUL, safe and very natural products that work. You get what you pay for. I love their products.

Some interesting advice so far... I didn't read it all, so I may be duplicating some here, but I'll wade in anyhow.

DEET is the most effective bug repellant there is (currently) and it is completely safe to use on people of any age as long as you are smarter than the container it comes in. Don't put ANY of this on your child's skin. Make sure she's wearing long pants, socks, long sleeves and a hat, and put it on the outside of her clothes. Don't use spray, just pat the liquid from your hands onto her hat, jacket, pants and socks. Ta da. No risk of any kind to her, no bugs can detect her. Then wash your hands.

Ditto for sunscreen. The trick is to keep the child covered. Use the sunblock full-body swimsuits, keep her head covered, and prefer to spend time in the shade -- take a beach umbrella to the beach, set up the picnic in the shade of tres, etc. It is impossible to overdose anyone on shade and covering clothing, but who knows what chemical-laden creams added 12 times a day to their absorbant skin will do...

I just read something about people who spray their property (buildings, tables, grass, etc) with original listerine (the yellow kind) and it keeps mosquitos away for a couple of days. This might be a good and inexpensive way to keep your daughter safe in your backyard or home.

I would try Avons, Skin so SOft, its great and its gentle, even for babies. If your still not sure consult your doctor, most docs are more then happy to recommend something that will not harm a child. Its important that there is NO DEET! thats toxic. My daughter has asthma also and when she was little I would use the Skin so Soft, it didnt bother her at all. Good Luck

For an infant with very sensitive skin, I would strongly recomend safe and affordable, natural skin care from Jordan Essentials. Please contact me for samples and more information or go the the web at www.jordanessentials.com to view the full line. ____@____.com
R. B.

I would go for Suncreen over insect repellent. When my child was that age, we were doing breathing treatments and meds for "asthma". However my ped. at the time recommended to expose him to everything and let him play outside as much as we could. We took the nebulizer camping, etc. He now has mild allergies, but a constant exposure helped his body develop it's own immunities. Over time as he is 9 now, I think that is a good strategy and it worked well for us and several of our neighbors.

I want to say that when my son went to the doctor and i had asked about that they said do not mix the 2 or maybe it was not to buy the insect repellant that had the sunscreen in it my son also has allergies and asthma and we used aveeno sunscreen that worked the bet for him as it is good with sensitive skin

You might want to check with your doctor because, although they never say this anywhere, you really aren't supposed to use products with DEET in them on children. But I'm not sure of the age range. Better safe than sorry. And I could be wrong - but that seems to be something that I'm remembering from when my kids were little. Best of luck!

avon has one without DEET and can be used on kids as young as 6 mths you can contact me if you want more info

you could try using 'skin so soft' lotion, its supposed to keep the bugs away, and it doesn't have any chemicals

talk to your ped, a phone call should be good.

I'm not sure if anyone else has made this suggestion, but make sure your baby is getting enough B vitamins . . . I'm not sure why, but this has always helped me keep them away. And if you want to try a natural mosquito repellant, Catnip works as well as DEET without the toxic side effects. I've seen lotions with catnip in them at natural body care stores. I'm sure you could find something online if you did a search. Or, just grow your own catnip and crush the leaves, rub them on your skin. You can buy fresh catnip at Petsmart and I'm sure some gardening stores.

As far as sunblock goes, try to keep baby out of direct sun during the hottest periods of the day 11a - 3p and make sure your baby gets enough antioxidants as this apparently helps manufacture the natural sunblock in our skin. http://www.naturalnews.com/020237.html

not to sure about the repellant, but Calfornia Baby makes the best sunscreen. My son never got even a hint of a sunburn with it on even with many days outside, around water, trip to Mexico at 3 yrs, etc. No chemicals and works so well. Target sometimes has it or can get online.

When my son was a baby I used Avon's Skin So Soft bath oil. It really worked well.