Best Ways to Prevent Insect Bites and Infections

Best Ways to Prevent Insect Bites and Infections

Hello Friends, Today i am going to tell you Best Ways to Prevent Insect Bites and Infections. This is the best way Best Ways to Prevent Insect Bites and Infections. So you can check Best Ways to Prevent Insect Bites and Infections Below Here. Summertime calls most of us to spend time outdoors. Alas, bugs can be a real buzz-kill at best, and carriers of disease at worst. Additionally, most commercial insect repellants contain a chemical known as DEET, which should be used with caution, if at all. Many studies have found DEET to have harmful effects.

Fortunately, there are plenty of tricks to keeping biting bugs at bay, and they don't involve applying toxic chemicals to your skin. There are also many natural remedies that can help take the sting out of your insect bites, should preventive methods fail.

The Most Common Offenders...
The featured article in Medical News Today1 offers an excellent and extensive overview of a wide variety of bug bites, their signs and symptoms and potential side effects, which can range from mild to severe (allergic reactions):

"When insects bite they release a form of saliva that can cause inflammation, blisters and irritation. Insect bite signs and symptoms vary, depending on the type of insect and the individual's sensitivity.

While one person may just have a small, itchy lump that clears away in a few days, somebody else can have a more serious reaction, such as papular urticaria — crops of small papules and wheals, which may become infected or lichenified (thickened and leathery) because of rubbing and excoriation."

WebMD also has a helpful "Bad Bugs Slideshow" to help you identify some 28 different types of bugs and their bites.2 Some of the most common biting insects include:

Mosquitoes
Certain flies
Fleas
Bedbugs
Gnats
Midges
Spiders
Ticks

Fortunately, it's fairly rare to catch diseases from most insect bites if you live in countries far away from the equator, such as northern parts of Europe, United States, and Canada. The closer you are to the equator, the risk of being bit by mosquitoes and other insects carrying diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness, yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile virus and dengue fever increases.

Ticks, however, can spread human babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme disease—one of the most serious and controversial epidemics of our time—regardless of your geographical location. To avoid ticks, make sure to tuck your pants into socks and wear closed shoes and a hat—especially if venturing out into wooded areas.

Effective Ways to Prevent Insect Bites and Infections

Stay Cool: Many insects are attracted to heat sources, since this is a functional way to hunt and a likely way to find food. Therefore, if you are sweating, your body is not only exuding a lot of heat, but also providing a wet, comfortable environment for a bug to latch on and possibly bite you. Avoid remaining outside after a healthy workout, and try to manage your body temperature in highly concentrated areas of insects.
Dress Appropriately: That being said, it is important to always dress appropriately when going out into nature or working in a heavily wooded area. If possible, wear long pants and shirts, to reduce the amount of exposed skin where insects could potentially bite, sting, or latch on to you. This can be difficult to do while staying cool, but minimizing exposed skin is more important than reducing your body temperature.
Avoid Heavily Wooded Areas: If you go into heavy brush, or try your hand at backcountry camping, you are putting yourself at a far greater risk of picking up ticks, disturbing spiders and generally giving bugs an excellent reason to bite you. Unless it is absolutely necessary, try to stay on set paths and avoid dry, leafy and brush-heavy areas, unless you are wearing appropriate clothing or have taken other precautions.
Cinnamon Leaf Oil: There is a great deal of controversy about the types of insect repellent that you should use to protect yourself from insect bites. Many people going into “deep woods” often choose products that contain DEET, which is very harmful for the environment, and can negatively affect human health. A natural option for an effective insect repellent is cinnamon leaf oil. The scent alone is unpleasant to most bugs, and if they do land on your skin and become exposed to the oil, it can actually kill certain species of insects. Use a small amount mixed with water and apply sparingly to exposed areas of skin.
Repellent: If you do choose to use a more formal insect repellent, be sure that you apply it to all areas of exposed skin, and avoid any products that do contain DEET. Re-application of insect repellent is very important, particularly if you are sweating, as this can quickly eliminate the repellent, leaving you vulnerable once again to bites and potential infection.
Bed Check: If you are camping, living in a heavily wooded area, or are housed somewhere that isn’t “bug proof”, then you should always check your bed before going to sleep. An insect will love nothing more than to have a warm, blood-filled body for 6-8 hours beside them, which will make for a nice meal. Don’t give them the opportunity to do that! Check your bed thoroughly before going to sleep at night, and do your best to close up any access points that bugs might have under the cover of darkness!
Avoid Strong Perfumes: Many insects are attracted by scent, which is why flowers often smell so sweet, to draw insects in to feed and carry their pollen. If you wear a lot of heavy perfumes or use strongly scented soaps and shampoos, there is a much better chance that bugs will naturally seek you out. Although you may not be a flower, they may still bite you anyway!
Be Prepared: Before you spend a significant amount of time in the wild, or travel to a new country, you should understand the risks in that region. Knowing what types of bugs are present, and what infections they commonly possess, can keep you focused on prevention. Also, you should find out if you are allergic to various insect bites, such as wasps, bees or mosquitoes, before you expose yourself to them in the wild. Also, be prepared for anaphylactic shock and allergic reactions whenever you go out into nature.
Avoid Violence: Taking a healthy swing at a bug may seem like a natural solution when an insect is flying near your face, but that might not be a great idea. Particularly for bees and wasps, this sort of aggressive behavior can often anger them, or make them feel threatened, and more likely to sting you. Swatting away mosquitoes is usually harmless, and irresistible, but for other insects, simply taking precautions should be enough to prevent a bite. Let the bug buzz around your face, but don’t swat at it, or else you might be on the receiving end of a sting!
Basic First Aid: Everyone should have some basic knowledge of first aid, which is necessary depending on the bite. From spider bites to scorpion stings, some insect bites do require quick medical attention to prevent infection or serious side effects. If you are going out into nature for an extended period of time, or know that you work in a high-risk area for bug bites, educate yourself on first aid techniques and ensure that you have the proper supplies on hand, should you need to use them.

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