Great article. I’m one of those people that love the outdoors and spend a lot of time in the woods. I’m retired and live in Southern Indiana where there are far more trees than people. I have 4 miles of trails I made and volunteer with trail maintenance in the Hoosier National Forest.
I’m also very allergic to most sun screen and bug sprays. I’ve taken care of the sun issues with SPF clothing (solumbra and rabbit brands are awesome) but the bug spray is still an issue. I’m about done with a round of steroids from my last experience with permethrin and these essential oils you mentioned.
I have not figured out which ones are the culprit but once I am free from my rashes I will experiment one at a time. Thanks to your article I probably not even try the cedar oil and others I tried.
The permethrin seems to leak through my clothes to irritate my skin, I need to try just my shoes and gaiters I use to see if that works.
I’m currently going spray free while I heal and it works fairly well by wearing light clothing, tucked in socks and lots of avoiding tick areas as much as possible. I trim my trails low, keep tree and bushes trimmed high, and edges trimmed back and I do tick checks often.
It mostly works with no ticks getting to my skin except one that buried through my gaiters and socks. It wasn’t attached long so I don’t think it was risky.
I just wanted to tell my story that there are a few of us that have sensitive skin and can’t use bug spray (and sunscreen) but will still go outside as much as possible!
Any other suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jerry! Thanks for your comment and your story! The other methods you employ are also great options - I am actually adding to this discussion in today's newsletter so stay tuned. But you're absolutely right that in some instances, people can have dermatological reactions to certain substances. In fact, I am that way with many scented lotions! It *could* be possibly related to your steroid treatments and the immunosuppressive effects they have, but if you do opt to treat clothing with permethrin in the future, make sure they are fully dry before wearing, as that can be a topical irritant.
Light-colored clothing, pants tucked into socks, tick checks, showering promptly after being outdoors, and changing clothing also are tools in the toolkit. Definitely read the next piece for some more details on these options for you, I hope they help!
Your explanation as to the validity & safety for using DEET &/or picaridin was very good. Thank you for adding to their mechanism of action.
You were not 'nitpicky' with your correct identification as permethrin being an insectcide.
Not having access to my home desktop I cannot offer an informed explanation as to the efficacy for "oil of lemon eucalyptus" which has name confusion with eucalyptus oil (stand corrected) and the active component PMD.
PMD has been recoined as cyclized oil of eucalyptus (sounds better apparently) and the standardized PMD (30% ??) offers comparable protection as for DEET & picaridin.
I'm Canadian & don't know if a efficacious product with PMD is available in the USA.
Now I risk being 'nitpicky', haha.
DEET is a solvent & as such is not a friend of synthetic materials, e.g. your favorite blouse/shirt, watch band's, etc.
Also it my understanding DEET's duration of action tops out at ~ 50%, as such no need to seek out the 'holy grail' of 95%.
Hi John, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, you're absolutely right. However, even though PMD is refined to increase the overall concentration, it still provides much more variable protection compared to DEET/picaridin, so in endemic areas, DEET/picaridin would always be the way to go. DEET has lost a bit of popularity compared to picaridin due to the solvent properties, but both are safe and effective. Similarly, yes, the max efficacy of DEET would be observed anywhere >50%, and ultimately, if you're spending that much time outdoor, you'll need to reapply when you sweat anyway. As someone who has lived in the epicenter of Lyme my entire life (and has yet to contract any TBD), I have been quite successful with those two options, and really want to strive to get people to stop falling prey to the appeal to nature fallacy!
Great article. I’m one of those people that love the outdoors and spend a lot of time in the woods. I’m retired and live in Southern Indiana where there are far more trees than people. I have 4 miles of trails I made and volunteer with trail maintenance in the Hoosier National Forest.
I’m also very allergic to most sun screen and bug sprays. I’ve taken care of the sun issues with SPF clothing (solumbra and rabbit brands are awesome) but the bug spray is still an issue. I’m about done with a round of steroids from my last experience with permethrin and these essential oils you mentioned.
I have not figured out which ones are the culprit but once I am free from my rashes I will experiment one at a time. Thanks to your article I probably not even try the cedar oil and others I tried.
The permethrin seems to leak through my clothes to irritate my skin, I need to try just my shoes and gaiters I use to see if that works.
I’m currently going spray free while I heal and it works fairly well by wearing light clothing, tucked in socks and lots of avoiding tick areas as much as possible. I trim my trails low, keep tree and bushes trimmed high, and edges trimmed back and I do tick checks often.
It mostly works with no ticks getting to my skin except one that buried through my gaiters and socks. It wasn’t attached long so I don’t think it was risky.
I just wanted to tell my story that there are a few of us that have sensitive skin and can’t use bug spray (and sunscreen) but will still go outside as much as possible!
Any other suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Hi Jerry! Thanks for your comment and your story! The other methods you employ are also great options - I am actually adding to this discussion in today's newsletter so stay tuned. But you're absolutely right that in some instances, people can have dermatological reactions to certain substances. In fact, I am that way with many scented lotions! It *could* be possibly related to your steroid treatments and the immunosuppressive effects they have, but if you do opt to treat clothing with permethrin in the future, make sure they are fully dry before wearing, as that can be a topical irritant.
Light-colored clothing, pants tucked into socks, tick checks, showering promptly after being outdoors, and changing clothing also are tools in the toolkit. Definitely read the next piece for some more details on these options for you, I hope they help!
Stay well!
Dr. Andrea
Your explanation as to the validity & safety for using DEET &/or picaridin was very good. Thank you for adding to their mechanism of action.
You were not 'nitpicky' with your correct identification as permethrin being an insectcide.
Not having access to my home desktop I cannot offer an informed explanation as to the efficacy for "oil of lemon eucalyptus" which has name confusion with eucalyptus oil (stand corrected) and the active component PMD.
PMD has been recoined as cyclized oil of eucalyptus (sounds better apparently) and the standardized PMD (30% ??) offers comparable protection as for DEET & picaridin.
I'm Canadian & don't know if a efficacious product with PMD is available in the USA.
Now I risk being 'nitpicky', haha.
DEET is a solvent & as such is not a friend of synthetic materials, e.g. your favorite blouse/shirt, watch band's, etc.
Also it my understanding DEET's duration of action tops out at ~ 50%, as such no need to seek out the 'holy grail' of 95%.
Appreciatively yours, JJF
Hi John, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, you're absolutely right. However, even though PMD is refined to increase the overall concentration, it still provides much more variable protection compared to DEET/picaridin, so in endemic areas, DEET/picaridin would always be the way to go. DEET has lost a bit of popularity compared to picaridin due to the solvent properties, but both are safe and effective. Similarly, yes, the max efficacy of DEET would be observed anywhere >50%, and ultimately, if you're spending that much time outdoor, you'll need to reapply when you sweat anyway. As someone who has lived in the epicenter of Lyme my entire life (and has yet to contract any TBD), I have been quite successful with those two options, and really want to strive to get people to stop falling prey to the appeal to nature fallacy!