Mosquitoes can make you seriously ill, take measures!
tiger mosquito
Attention and prevention Tegen mosquitoes is important when you consider what nasty diseases these critters can transmit, such as Malaria, Dengue, Zika, Yellow fever and Chikungunya. Especially in the tropics, these diseases are associated with many illnesses and deaths. The general advice therefore applies to travelers: take the right protection measures against mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes that transmit Zika, dengue and chikungunya are the yellow fever mosquito or Asian tiger mosquito. These mosquitoes mainly bite during the day. Zika can also be transmitted through sexual contact. Dengue and chikungunya are not transmitted from person to person.
There are four types of dengue virus. After experiencing a type, you are protected for life against that virus type (for example, type 2). This lifetime protection is not against the other types (type 1, 3 and 4). It is therefore possible to get dengue several times.
What are the symptoms of Zika, dengue and chikungunya?
The symptoms of Zika, dengue and chikungunya are very similar, but usually the three diseases are asymptomatic. Sometimes people get fever, joint pain, headache and pronounced muscle pain. The disease then resembles the flu. Skin rashes may also occur.
Dengue can rarely be serious, with high fever and bleeding in the skin and organs. The chance of these serious symptoms is slightly increased if you have already had dengue once and become infected with another type of dengue. There are no vaccines for travelers against Zika, dengue and chikungunya.
How do I protect myself against mosquitoes?
The malaria mosquito bites between sunset and sunrise, while the dengue mosquito bites mainly during the day. Good mosquito protection measures are therefore very important to prevent disease.
- Wear covering clothing (long pants, long sleeves, closed shoes) between sunset and sunrise.
- Coat the uncovered parts with an insect repellent based on 40-50% DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, 40%).
- Sleep in a mosquito-free area: an enclosed, air-conditioned room.
- If the room is not mosquito-free, sleep under a mosquito net. Tuck the edges of the mosquito net under the mattress.
- If you also use sunscreen, first lubricate the sunscreen and let it work for 15 minutes before applying the DEET. If it does the other way around, the DEET will not work sufficiently.
What is DEET?
DEET (diethyltoluamide) is in products that you put (or spray) on the skin to keep mosquitoes away from you.
to hold. There are lotions, gels, sprays and sticks for sale with DEET. The amount of DEET differs per
product. Use products with a strength of 30 to 50% DEET. A lower percentage of DEET ensures
ensure that the product protects you for less time. A percentage of DEET higher than 50% does not work better.
Sick after your vacation?
Have you come from the (sub)tropics with a fever, a flu-like feeling, diarrhoea, skin rashes and/or respiratory complaints? Then go to your doctor in time and mention that you have been to a (sub)tropical area. The GP can then possibly refer you to a tropical outpatient clinic. The complaints can be a (starting) expression of a (serious) infectious disease. A quick diagnosis can be important for your health.
Sources: RIVM and LCR
You can indeed get sick from a mosquito bite.
I suppose there are places in Thailand where you better protect yourself against mosquitoes.
But I've lived here for years, and I can't imagine wearing a harness all day to protect myself against mosquitoes.
Yes, there is a risk, but the risk that you as a tourist will have a traffic accident - often with serious injuries, and sometimes even fatal - in Thailand seems to me to be a lot greater than contracting a disease from a mosquito bite.
Warning: Most anti-mosquito products that you find in supermarkets such as 7-11, Familymart, Big C, etc. have either no or only a very low percentage of DEET. I suspect that people in Thailand are not very aware of the need for good mosquito repellents. The percentage of Deet in most sprays or creams is often between 10 and 15%. So absolutely insufficient.
I have very good experiences with a private label from Boots pharmacy.
Boots, REPEL extra strength (50% DEET).
In a gray packaging as a roller (very handy), spray or cream.
Near me in Pattaya in a moo track (shielded residential area), about seven English people have become ill from mosquito bites in the past two years. The dengue mosquito is ubiquitous. You will find these animals in the stagnant water of planters or drains. A woman had already been stabbed twice and quite naked always cleaning her house in the morning. Some people are apparently hardworking. I have a good dose of spray cans and regularly indulge myself in the appropriate places. Indeed, sleep with air conditioning on and have now been saved after five years. Shorts are also not for me other than at the beach or swimming pool. Staying alert and rubbing in at regular intervals is not an unnecessary luxury. It is good to read that attention is being paid to it. That there are people who ignore these kinds of messages, that will always be the case.
Do you have water nearby... see if there are enough fish in it... if not, release them. fish eat mosquito larvae in the water. Small puddles also form during the rainy season. A powder can be sprinkled in there to prevent mosquito larvae from coming. Available (often free from the municipality)
I have a large pond in front of my door….lots of fish….no mosquitoes.
Now I wonder what should be achieved with this article. This piece states:
“The symptoms of Zika, dengue and chikungunya are very similar, but usually the three diseases are asymptomatic. Sometimes people get fever, joint pain, headache and pronounced muscle pain. The disease then resembles the flu. Skin rashes can also develop.”
It is written as a title that mosquitoes can make you seriously ill, but at the same time that it is an exception that one becomes seriously ill, and that one must protect oneself.
When I read that deet, the main ingredient of mosquito repellents can also be dangerous:
https://www.gezondheid.be/index.cfm?fuseaction=art&art_id=6675
the question comes to my mind, isn't it much more dangerous to smear your body with deet, which you know is not good, to prevent a possible mosquito bite, from which a possible disease can develop that can possibly be serious?
I use a remedy very occasionally, when I know we will be sitting in a restaurant at dusk. But at home, in general, nothing at all. If I sit outside in the evening, I use a large fan as an anti-mosquito agent, which also provides me with the necessary cooling (especially now in the hot months). And indeed, our house has mosquito nets in all openings, the bedroom door is closed at night and we almost always have the air conditioning on.
I know people who have doors and windows open all day without mosquito netting and close them at night. By that time the mosquitoes are already inside. We are consistent in this and always have everything closed with mosquito netting.
In addition, in a city with sewers and the many places that exist there, you are more likely to get stung than in the countryside - at least if you don't live next to a pool of water.
one more tip… tie off your fornication of your seplintan with mosquito netting
Not only helps against mosquitoes, but also prevents a snake from crawling into the sewer system and out again through the pot
Wageningen University has one of the best enthomologists and faculty and has done some research into the causes of mosquito bites.
from those studies came a number of interesting findings.
1. mosquitoes are mainly attracted to CO2 and not to light! [-our exhale] and various body odors caused by deodorants and other ointments.
2. what you eat also determines your body odor and that could possibly explain why one gets stung and the other doesn't or gets stung less.
so the experiment in bkk by trying to stun mosquitoes with motorbike exhaust fumes is total madness and attracts mosquitoes like the aedes pictus ”albus”!
here too, a causal approach is best and in pots and decorative vases you can put guppies and mosquito fish to serve as a natural enemy because the larvae are excellent food. then put a lotus in it so that the fish can hide and the temp. don't get too high!
as stated, check your yard for stagnant water locations.