Mosquito Repellents

Mosquitoes are everywhere in the Philippines. Most homes have screened windows to keep them out. However, even with screened windows, these pesky mosquitoes can still find their way into the home. They can find small gaps or simply fly in through the door when people move in and out.

Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance but can also pose a serious health threat. Our daughter used to get lots of large itchy red bumps from the bites of these nasty mosquitoes. It was so heart breaking to see her suffer from these itchy bites and scratch herself until the skin breaks. We started applying mosquito repellents but were worried about effects from prolonged use of mosquito repellents based on synthetic chemicals like the commonly available OFF Lotion.

The most common chemical used by conventional mosquito repellents is DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide). Although DEET is still considered safe by most government safety bodies if used as directed, these directions include:

• Do not apply over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.
• Do not apply to hands or near eyes and mouth of young children.
• After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water.

Once your child has been bitten and has scratched the bite, it is no longer safe to apply DEET-based mosquito repellents on that area.

Although rare, there are reports of DEET-associated seizures. A study from France found DEET to be toxic to the central nervous system of insects and also mammals. This should not come as a surprise since DEET was originally tested as a pesticide.

After learning the potential dangers of DEET based mosquito repellents, we started buying and testing alternative products made from natural ingredients. Most natural based mosquito repellents are much more expensive. The product that we liked most and have been using on our 2 year old child for about 8 months now is MOZ AWAY NATURAL from HOE Pharmaceuticals Sdn. Bhd. Its active ingredients are Citronella and Neem oil. It is also non-greasy, non-staining, alcohol free, contains no artificial fragrances and formulated to pH 5.5. It comes in 75ml PE spray bottle. NTUC Fairprice and Unity NTUC Healthcare are selling it at less than $7.

We're very happy to see our child's body clear of those nasty red bumps from  mosquito bites.

More on breast pump and baby bottles

After doing more research online, we have decided to get the Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA breast pump instead of Medela, and Born free glass baby bottles instead of Avent BPA-free bottles for my daughters. Yes, my wife has given birth to our second daughter last February 7, 2010. :)

We went for Ameda because of its more hygienic design. Ameda’s design uses silicone diaphragms to prevent the milk from getting into the tubing and pump. Medela pumps don’t have this barrier and there have been several reports of mold growing in the tubing of Medela pumps. If the tubing gets molds and since Medela has no barrier between the milk and the tubing, the breast milk can be contaminated.

I purchased the Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA breast pump from the US. I got it from http://www.breastfeedingexpress.com/. I checked several online shops before making my purchase and they had a very competitive price. Their service was also great.

The Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA breast pump from the US is exactly the same as the new Ameda Lactaline Dual Breastpump available here in Singapore except that the Purely Yours ULTRA comes with a tote bag and extra accessories. The Purely Yours ULTRA also comes with three breast flange sizes so my wife can choose one that best fits her. The Ameda pump kit is also BPA free. The price I paid for the Purely Yours ULTRA from US including shipping cost and an extra UK style power adapter was about  S$100 more than the selling price of the Lactaline Dual Breastpump here in Singapore. However, with all the extra accessories and spare parts that came with it, it was well worth it.

For baby bottles, we initially wanted to get the Avent BPA-free bottles. We were very happy with the Avent bottles. However, after reading from reviews that Avent BPA-free bottles have leaking problem, we decided to look for other alternatives. We also decided to be more conservative and went for glass bottles. Polycarbonate plastic has been used for milk bottles and food and beverage containers for years before BPA was identified as unsafe. What if they later find other unsafe chemical in the new BPA-free plastics?

We finally decided to get the BornFree glass bottles. Although their baby bottles have an additional part to wash and assemble, we think it is not too much of a trouble. The additional part is their air vent system. It is quite effective. The glass bottles are slightly heavier than plastic bottles but we don’t find it a problem.

BornFree glass bottles are not so easy to find in Singapore though. I also had to purchase our bottles from the US. These are a little expensive and I had to pay extra for shipping but I think the BornFree glass bottles are worth the extra effort and money. My sister who also just recently gave birth to her second son bought the Avent BPA-free bottles. She confirmed that the new Avent BPA-free bottles do leak.

To save on shipping cost, I used vPOSTUSA and consolidated all my purchases in US before shipping these to Singapore.