Malaria Repellent Cream

[kendo]

Hi guys,
We are traveling out in 9 days time with our 11 month old daughter, where is the best place to source some malaria repellant cream suitable for an infant, i have already got a mossie net and some antihistamine, so not really looking for a consultation as we have had one in the UK, just the right place for the cream.

Also is anyone brand better than another ? opinions please.

I must admit i am a little bit nervous traveling out with my little princess, then going up to Surin Province.

Kendo.

[deepee]

kendo,
I think you may be after a mosquito repellant cream to prevent malaria and other diseases.Anything with the ingredient DEET in is considered to be the most effective.You can get a number of products around Thailand containing DEET. "Wild Life " is one thats supposed to be ok. The concentration of DEET can vary considerably from one brand to another.
Now for the down side Kendo. There are some reports starting to come out against the prolonged use of DEET, kids especially(would n't you know it!)May be worth consulting a doctor- Dr Mike maybe ?
The mossies just love Mrs deepee.She has hyper sensitivity issues to many products and is now trying out some citronella wipes which she claims deters the little suckers.She also has a little pocket-sized battery operated thigamejig that lets out a very high pitched signal that is also supposed to scare them off. Not sure about it tho , but my dogs don't like it.

[hhfarang]

Yes, I've read studies for years that Deet may be worse in the long run that getting bitten by mosquitoes. Seems like it's a very dangerous chemical but unfortunately, nothing else has proven as effective against mosquito bites (except staying inside a closed air conditioned house).

[Frank Hovis]

We use Soffell Pink. There is an Orange but I don't think it's as effective. It's 12% DEET which isn't that much really. Mosquito bites don't bother me any more, no lumps, no itches, no scabs but I still use the Soffell to prevent as many bites as possible.

I think the dangers of mosquito bites outweigh any dangers of DEET, it's not just Malaria, which is fairly rare in most of Thailand but Dengue Fever is endemic, Japanese Encephalitis and Filariasis are rarer but still possible. Even non-diseased bites can turn nasty for small children if they scratch them, scratched bites ooze whatever that clear juice is and that attracts flies and with them comes the very real risk of infection.

I cringe when I'm in town and see little children, both Thai & Foreign who have been bitten to pieces and have scratched their bites, it must be agony for them. There is an anti-herpes cream called Zevin Cream (Aciclovir) that reduces swelling and itchiness with just a tiny amount on the bite, works really well.

[PeteC]

1) Don't forget the MATS wafers and little red colored electric machine we talked about on a different thread. You can find in Lotus. Put it in her sleeping room but in a corner somewhere, not under her crib. They say the wafers last 12 hours but it's really more like 8-10.

2) OFF cream for Kids also at Lotus, or you can probably find easily in the UK before you leave. 7.5% Deet.

3) Pure Green liquid spray. 20% citronella grass oil, no Deet at all. Also should be at Lotus. The citronella wipes also work as mentioned above. Protection is not as long as a Deet product, maybe about 4 hours.

Any other Deet creams you'll see in Lotus will probably be 12, 15 or 20% Deet. You can use one of those as well, but I would use it sparingly on her.

We're in the dry season now so there shouldn't be waves of mosquitoes. However, when you get to the house in Surin do a walk-around and look for any flower pots etc., for standing water and dump them out. Take away their place to breed and you'll have less on the wing while you're there.

Don't worry too much. Pete

[simmo116]

good advice there. never heard that before about the deet. were coming out in august for a fortnight. i personally have never taken malaria tablets,only using the reppelent sprays.our travelling partners whom are thai virgins. are unsure on what precautions to take regarding malaria. our one friend is a mozzie magnet so she is quite rightly worried. is there much risk of malaria in hua hin/surrounding areas? advice from the uk is that we should be ok aslong as were not near the border or prolonged jungle exposure.
any help guys would be great thanx.
rich

[PeteC]

.......advice from the uk is that we should be ok as long as were not near the border or prolonged jungle exposure.

That's good advice. You all will be OK if you use a cream like OFF or other Deet product while outdoors, especially in the evening. Don't worry about malaria tablets or the like. Pete

[Takiap]

The old shopping mall also sell Johnsons Baby mosquito repellent.

[Rob W]

The old shopping mall also sell Johnsons Baby mosquito repellent.

+1
from me

[chaspul]

Maybe too late for Kendo to obtain, but my wife and other members of her family, used to swear by, Avon "Skin so Soft" bath oil, used neat on the skin.
Seems to work well to deter the mozzies in the North Ontario outback, which are almost the size of the small bees we get here.

As a sceptical Brit who seems to attract the little sods, I decided to get maximum protection and use Back Woods OFF for the 10 days we spent at her brother's cabin in the forest. After about 4 days and nights of using DEET in this quantity I felt quite ill. Beware if using large amounts of DEET for a prolonged period. Swopping to Skin so Soft worked for me during the rest of the trip.

Due to lack of availability of Avon here, we now only use local citronella/lemongrass products.

Chas

[PET]

Hi guys,
We are traveling out in 9 days time with our 11 month old daughter, where is the best place to source some malaria repellant cream suitable for an infant, i have already got a mossie net and some antihistamine, so not really looking for a consultation as we have had one in the UK, just the right place for the cream.

Also is anyone brand better than another ? opinions please.

I must admit i am a little bit nervous traveling out with my little princess, then going up to Surin Province.

Kendo.

Boots brand (at Heathrow ) Insect Repellent works very well here

[kendo]

Thank you for your advise guy's very help full, we have had a right old run around and our time wasted by incompetent people here's why.

Phoned doctors for travel consultation for Amelie, was told to come and collect a form to be filled out and returned on day of appointment.
So when i went up there i bumped into the nurse and we had a brief conversation, and she basically tried to say you have left it too late from appointment date, and to seek advice from a private clinic to start the immunizations before the appointment as she will need Rabies jab, and a jab for Japanese Encephalitis and the list could be really long so give them a call.

So i phoned the private travel clinic told them about the above mentioned conversation and also that my baby girl has had a BCG jab two months ago.

There was quite a long pause on the phone and i was then told that you can't give an 11 month old baby those jabs all she can have is the MMR jab early before she is 13 months old, and just to use Malaria cream long clothing and nets.

So i phoned my doctors surgery and left a message to just give here the MMR jab , as my wife was taking Amelie to the appointment on her own as i was working.

On my return that night from work my wife was not very happy, she was given a prescription for Malaria tablets (Mefloquine Lariam) walked to the pharmacy that was closed for lunch, so she walked 15, minutes home, then back again later that day to be refused the prescription by the pharmacist as my baby girl is too young and should not have been prescribed them.

She was also given a travel print out that the travel nurse had written a note on there that we should also use a Malaria cream with a 50% Deet concentration that seems a bit high in my opinion.

I asked the Boots pharmacy in Southampton about Malaria creams three weeks ago, and was told to young to use them, so yesterday i was in town and after reading what you guys have advice on and thought i would check Deet content, i found a bottle on the shelf called Repel for children of 6 months ,it speaks volumes in my opinion when people don't even know there own jobs and products.

Kendo.

[Frank Hovis]

50% DEET would probably melt any synthetic clothing she has on!

Make sure she always sleeps under a mosquito net - you can get little mosquito tents as well, not sure where but Tesco/Big C probably carries them.

Jap E. is pretty rare so unless there is an outbreak where your going you shouldn't have to worry about it.

Rabies is quite rare and it's obviously hard to get, you need to be bitten by an animal. Make sure she knows (and everyone else especially Thai family if you have any) that she is not to touch dogs, cats, monkeys etc. They don't need to be foaming at the mouth to have rabies. Any bite should be assumed to be rabid, quick treatment is effective and every Thai hospital carries rabies treatments. The rabies 'vaccine' doesn't stop you getting rabies anyway, you still need the full course of post-bite injections.

You have a much higher chance of a mishap while travelling round here than getting a nasty disease.

But most of all, enjoy your time here, be sensible and I'm sure everything will be fine.

[kendo]

Agreed Frank traveling around Thailand is always a bit of a risk seen countless amount of serious RTA traveling up and down from Prasat.
In our village soi dogs are like the sodding plague and we never walk around in the evening without a large stick to fend them away with.
My mrs wants to take our baby next year on her own to the village I am not so sure that will be happening.

Back on topic I will buy a cream in Hua Hin and test it against the Boots one that is for UK and Europe, if that makes any real difference.

Kendo.

[Nereus]

.........................................Make sure she always sleeps under a mosquito net - you can get little mosquito tents as well, not sure where but Tesco/Big C probably carries them.

These things are a must for little ones. They fold up and are easy to transport.