Finding the Right Bug Spray for Sensitive Skin

With warm weather in full swing, you may find yourself ready to spend more time outside, whether gardening, hiking, or simply walking around your neighborhood. But while hitting the trails or digging up flower beds, you have to protect yourself against bugs, especially ones that carry dangerous diseases, such as ticks and mosquitoes.

One of the best defenses against biting and disease-carrying insects is wearing bug spray. However, if you deal with sensitive skin, eczema, or skin allergies or develop hives, you may find that many bug sprays easily irritate your skin, leaving you itchy and red.

At Allergy and Asthma Institute of Southeast Michigan in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Chad W. Mayer, DO, FAAAAI, FAAP, and the rest of our team understand that it can be easy to skip bug spray when it irritates your skin. However, it’s still important to protect yourself against dangerous diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus that insects carry.

So, in this month’s blog, we offer solutions that can protect you from disease and prioritize the comfort of non-irritated skin.

Why do some bug sprays irritate sensitive skin?

A highly effective ingredient and chemical found in many bug sprays is called DEET, which protects you from biting insects by making it harder for them to smell you. The concentration of DEET found in a bug spray product determines how long it can offer protection. For example, if a bug spray has 10% DEET, it protects you for two hours, and 30% protects you for five hours.

While it’s not always the case, bug spray products that have DEET in them can irritate the skin, especially when it’s a higher concentration and you already have more sensitive skin. 

Sometimes, bug sprays don’t list other inactive ingredients that you might be sensitive to, such as fragrances or other chemicals. 

What are some safe bug spray options for sensitive skin?

If you find that bug sprays with DEET irritate your skin, opt for bug sprays that contain picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus, which may be a little more gentle but are still approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

You should also choose a bug spray that has the lowest concentration of chemicals for what you need, since unnecessarily high levels will be more likely to irritate your skin.

How you apply bug spray can also lower your risk of skin irritation. These are some tips for safe bug spray application:

• Only use it in the form of sticks, lotions, and unpressurized sprays
• Apply the repellent in an open area
• Only apply it on top of clothing and skin that will be exposed, never under clothing
• Don’t over-apply since using more doesn’t mean better protection
• Wash the repellent off your skin after returning inside

You can also wear a hat with an attached mosquito net to avoid putting bug spray on your face or for additional protection.

To learn more about how to defend yourself against biting insects while also keeping your skin safe, schedule an appointment by calling or using our online booking feature today.