Parents usually buy it for its practicality, but health authorities say it should be completely avoided for babies and young children…
In summer, when humidity and heat set in, mosquitoes become a real scourge, especially for children. Their bites cause intense itching, redness and sometimes even allergic reactions. The little ones, with their delicate skin, suffer particularly from the attacks of these insects, which has the gift of worrying parents and rightly so. So to protect their offspring, some do not hesitate to buy a multitude of sprays, lotions or diffusers, supposedly adapted to the health of the youngest. Among these products, there is one that we find in number every summer, as parents find it practical and effective.
However, this product is far from being safe for children. Indeed, in 2020, the French Food Safety Agency (ANSES) had already sounded the alarm on this subject in a report. The product in question is an alternative to mosquito repellent pesticides: these are mosquito repellent bracelets, which toddlers wear on their wrists. At the time, several cases of accidents caused by mosquito repellent bracelets in infants and young children had been recorded by poison control centers and the risk is even higher when children put the bracelet in their mouth. One baby woke up with a burn on his cheek, another had a generalized rash after wearing his bracelet for a month. Quite worrying side effects.
The bracelets in question are either made of capsules filled with essential oils or are equipped with plates. However, essential oils, in this case geraniol and citrodiol, are often irritating and can cause allergies. Added to this are other components such as terpenes, natural hydrocarbons, which are also harmful. So yes, normally, the plastic of the bracelet protects from direct contact with the products, but The devices sold in stores are not sufficiently secure and tend to give way, releasing the mosquito repellent when children play with them.
In his reportAnses stressed that: “These reactions appear all the more intense when contact with the capsule or the blister pack has been prolonged and when it involves particularly fragile areas such as the face of a young child.“. On most packaging, these protections are not recommended for children under three years of age, but health authorities insist that a “absolute contraindication of these bracelets in toddlers”. Clearly, young children should avoid wearing mosquito repellent bracelets. Especially since their effectiveness has certain limits. Locally, the product works, but it is not enough to keep mosquitoes away from all areas of the body. Furthermore, although these recommendations specifically concern babies and children, they also apply to pregnant women and people with allergies.