Come Stitch With Me

Before I left on my trip last week, I picked up a can of the Off! Clean Feel Fragrance Free insect repellent because I knew South Georgia would be full of biting insects. I’m the person that will let you know if there are fleas or mosquitoes in an area before you ever see them. ‘Cause I’m apparently a magnet for biting insects.

The product worked exactly as described. No smell, no sticky feel, and I didn’t get bit by mosquitoes, flies, chiggers or no-see-ums on my trip. I applied the product as directed and showered each evening to remove the product. However, after two days of use, I was sporting an angry red rash on my feet, ankles and upper arms that continued to spread. Benadryl, calamine lotion and hydrocortisone cream helped, but I had to see my primary care doctor to get a 10 day round of prednisone to help my body process the histamine response. Allergic contact dermatitis was my diagnosis.

I’ve used Off!, Cutter and other insect repellents for years with zero reactions. Not this time. This particular insect repellent contains picaridin 20% instead of the usual DEET. I don’t know if it was the picaridin, percentage of picaridin, or one of the unknown “other ingredients” in the product that caused my allergic reaction, but you can bet I’ll read the active ingredient list more closely on the next bottle of insect repellent that I buy.

Cutter Skinsations was my most recent bottle of insect repellent. It has a DEET 7% as the active ingredient. No reactions and no biting insects either. Adding that to my shopping list.