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I have heard from a friend that armed forces have been known to use wristbands that give out a frequency that mosquitos hate as a malaria prevention. These are not the wristbands that are impregnated with repellent. Having looked all over for some clue to their existence i have found nothing.
Does anyone know anything about these?

I have never heard of these but if u do find out then do let me know. I got malaria in March in Africa and have been very ill. I refuse to take anti malaria tablets ever again as i was on the best money could buy (malarone - bloomin expensive) and i religiously sprayed myself with repellant. i got bit THREE times int total and nearly died with Malaria. So these wristbands sound like something i could be interested in in the future.

I remember being in Africa last year and when I got my first mosquito bite I just looked at it and thought to myself, "...well, is this going to be the one that kills me?" I didn't get sick at all on that trip. However, while in Nepal I did get a pretty bad fever that went away after two days. I never considered that it might have been anything like malaria. But months after I returned I went to see my doctor for other reasons and I mentioned the fever in Nepal and he said it is possible that that was a small bout of malaria.

Thanks for sharing your info...I am going to India and was undecided about the meds...I think prevention is the best bet.

Al, I'm currently in Florida (which, outside of malarial Africa, is the mosquito capital of the world), and I can assure you that the vibrational and ultrasonic devices that are being sold will be completely ineffective against the majority of aggressive mosquitoes.

If you're going to a particularly malaria-prone region, you'll need to choose between the three main meds available and bring a healthy supply of DEET or an equivalent chemical repellent. Relying on the devices above is quite dangerous.

1.Has anyone had positive experience from wearing the Pyrethrin treated clothing(Buzz off by Ex Officio,and so on)? I am bring shirts,socks,and bandanas that have been treated like this.
I will be taking malaria meds, too ,of course./and deeting myself!
2.Has anyone soaked their own clothes in Pyethrins themselves? I read about doing this somewhere,and I was thinking about doing this...as the pyrethrin clothing only lasts about 40 washes and is quite pricey.
Thanks, Gigirtw

quote:

Originally posted by gigirtw:
1.Has anyone had positive experience from wearing the Pyrethrin treated clothing

I've never worn any of these new-fangled clothes myself, but I've heard several first-person anecdotes involving rashes. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Hey there, I don't know if I was living in a cave, but I just found this site! Anyway, I think that looking at trying to prevent malaria, you need to look at a few things.

I can't say enough good things about "good old fashioned" protection like bed nets, 30% deet (anymore and you could get some skin irritation) and permethrin spray. As some of the above posts point out, permethrin clothing spray is a very good tool to prevent mosquitoes. Remember that sunscreen goes on under the bug spray and use of the the two sprays (bug and sun) together can cause the sunscreen to be a bit less effective. It should have no effect on the efficacy of the DEET.

Anopheles (the mosquito to look out for) is generally a sundown/sunrise biter, so minimize your time outside during these times.

Lastly, there is chemoprophylaxis, or pills. This decison should be made between you and your travel health specialist. Depending on where you are going, some meds may be better than others. Always get a professional opinion!

Have a great trip, too! Sorry to ramble but I always love this topic!

Mosquitoes and Mosquito Repellents: A Clinician's Guide

On the subject of permethrin and DEET:

quote:

Permethrin should be applied directly to clothing or other fabrics (such as tent walls [102] or mosquito nets [103]), not to skin. The spray form is nonstaining, nearly odorless, and resistant to degradation by heat or sun and maintains its potency for at least 2 weeks, even through several launderings [104, 105]. The combination of permethrin-treated clothing and skin application of a DEET-based repellent creates a formidable barrier against mosquito bites [19, 106, 107]. In a field trial conducted in Alaska, persons wearing permethrin-treated uniforms and a polymer-based 35% DEET product had more than 99.9% protection (1 bite/h) over 8 hours, even under conditions of intense biting pressures; unprotected persons received an average of 1188 bites/h [108].

Coating clothes on one's own seems effective, if tiresome and expensive for extended periods. I'll be heading out soon and will rely on pills and DEET almost exclusively. I will probably spray on some permethrin treatment in the Amazon, but repeating the treatment throughout a six month + journey with varying degrees of mosquito exposure doesn't really seem practical.