Kenya - Any advice on non-DEET mosquito repellent for a 13 month old

[crumpetsolo]

I'm traveling to Kenya with 13 month old DS at the end of January, and was hoping someone had some advice about a mozzie repellent suitable for littlies..? We'll be at the coast so doing all the usual covering up, mozzie nets etc and am looking into anti-malarials for babies, but I never usually take them. Thanks!

Bump.

I don't know about proprietary anti-mozzie stuff but when I went to Indonesia I made my own from essential oils - it was bloody brilliant (but didn't work on sandflies ).

However, you would need to check to see what would work with babies as they have different tolerances to levels of different essential oils (for e.g. citronella, a standard anti-mozzie oil, is not recommended for the under 2s). You could phone the Tisserand people if this is something that you would consider - try this number as they don't seem to have a dedicated helpline number any more and ask their advice, or see an aromatherapist for a stock to be made for you. That will cost you more though.

Mosiguard. I used a lot in pregnancy.

we have used lifesystems stuff before, but not on a child that small.

And it does say recommended for malaria-free areas too.

Get professional advice on this. I work a lot in East Africa and the coast is the most likely place to catch malaria. There are strains of malaria there which are resistant to some anti-malarial tablets. I would be taking them yourself too - we have had several very bad cases of malaria amonst work colleagues in recent years caught in that part of the world, including a death.

Of course, the suckers have to bite you in order to infect you. Gin and tonic (make sure it's tonic with quinine in) helps!Well, actually just the tonic is necessary, but would be a shame to waste it without gin now!

again, no idea about age-wise (when I lived there, children were older) but Malarone is the recommended anti-malarial these days, i think. there is a paediatric version, but don't know from what age.

coastal area def recommneded that you take anti-malarials as well as all the usuall cover-up/net stuff

Thanks everyone, will go and see GP tomorrow to ask about Malarone. pandora69 not sure DS is a big gin and tonic fan. I'll ask him tomorrow.

I've used Malarone, but there is the choice of mefloquine or doxycycline.one consideration is whether baby needs to take medication daily or weekly, as it makes a difference. You would also need to take the antimalarials yourself too as the coast area is a malaria zone.also need long trousers/socks especially in the evening when the mossies come out. I suggest non-DEET repellants for baby

Paed. Malarone is weight dependant not age - think it's 11kg but I might be wrong.

We took 13 month old DS to Kenya last July and we did not have a problem at all (at the Coast).

We also had a cool little ladybird battery powered device from Jojo Maman Bebe which apparently emits a high pitched sound the mozzies don't like....

Here

Also bought a mosquito net for buggy for naps during the day and took along a cot net although one was provided.

I worried far too much, it was not a problem at all.

Crumpets, possibly a bit late for you, but you can buy some excellent deet free kiddie friendly repellants here (Kenya) in the supermarkets. I always use them on my dc when we are at the coast. Where exactly will you be?

Yes Malarone is weight dependent. It is the only recommended effective prophylaxis now for the coast area. We are experiencing a great deal of rain at the moment, unusually high for this time of the year, so I recommend that both you and ds take Malarone.

I use Burt's Bees insect repellent on the kids when we go to Malaysia. I forgot it last time (a few weeks ago) and we had to use a local deet-free repellent and it wasn't as effective. It's not malarial in Malaysia but they do have a few other mosquito-spread diseases like dengue so I was quite concerned.

You can buy tropical insect repellent for 6 months+ at Boots.