Every summer there is a constant, regardless of where in the country you are, namely mosquitoes. Getting bitten by mosquitoes is both common and part of summer.
Most often, you notice that you have been bitten by the skin turning red, swelling and starting to itch.
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Then you may need to seek treatment for the mosquito bite
It is not at all common that you need to seek treatment for mosquito bites in Sweden. But according to 1177 may be preferable if you experience swelling, redness or pain at the site of the mosquito bite. Especially if the symptoms become severe and increase after a couple of days.
One way to prevent mosquito bites is to use mosquito repellent. There are lots of products on the market that will deter mosquitoes from biting you. But the question is how reliable are the products actually?
In an interview with TV4’s “News Morning” have Anna Edbergproject manager at Råd & Rön, went through eight different products available in Swedish stores and pharmacies to find out which is the best – and which is downright the worst.
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Photo: Sara Johannessen Meek & Malin Ekmark / TT / TT Mosquito repellents are seen: “Wasted money”
The products tested by Råd & Rön are everything from mosquito spray to roll-on and oil.
The tests are carried out using a mosquito lab. The products have been used by a test panel that then puts the arm into a cage filled with Asian tiger mosquitoes, which are aggressive and bite.
It then turns out that some products are better than others.
– If we get down to the bottom, we have two products that do not work at all. We see no difference in the lab when the panel puts their hands in without mosquito repellent or when they have these products, she says.
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One of the agents tested is MyggA, which comes in second place. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT “Not approved by the chemical inspection”
Mosquito repellent – from best to worst:
– One is a bracelet that emits sound that is supposed to protect against mosquito bites, but it doesn’t. It says on the packaging that it should protect against zika, against malaria and a number of different diseases. But we see no effect at all. Waste of money, she states regarding Radarcan’s mosquito bracelet.
At the bottom is an oil that is in fact illegal to sell.
– It is supposed to protect with essential oils, but it provides no protection and is also illegal to sell. It is not approved by the chemical inspection, which is a requirement. This counts as a pesticide, she says about Urtegaarden’s stick-not-oil in Nyhetsmorgon.
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Urtegaarden: “We do not market this product”
In another email News24 explains Urtegaarden’s product specialist Vibeke Estrup how they react to the fact that the product may be illegal to sell.
“First, I want to state that we do not sell the product as a mosquito product and nowhere in our marketing do we promise anything about an effect or even mention mosquitoes”.
The Danish company has previously had dialogues with authorities to find out how they can relate to the product for marketing purposes, Estrup writes further.
“Several years ago we discussed this with the Danish Environment Agency. They said that if we didn’t market the products or mention mosquitoes and instead sold it as a body oil, it wouldn’t be in breach of the biocide rules. The product can never be registered as a biocide as it is based on natural oil that cannot be approved as a biocide The oils are often used in skin care products”.
In conclusion, she states that the company cannot take responsibility for which registrations are made in Sweden.
“We do not market this product, or any other products, in Sweden and therefore cannot be responsible for any registrations in Sweden”, writes Vibeke Estrup.