If you live around Sub-Saharan Africa or South-East Asia where malaria is endemic, preventive measures like insecticide-treated mosquito nets would not be strange to you. This is a barrier method of preventing mosquito bites and malaria by offering both physical and chemical deterrent to the adult mosquitoes.
Insecticide treated mosquito nets are reported to be relatively safe to humans (including children and pregnant women) but a few adverse effects have been reported. These include respiratory irritations, and skin itching and irritation, all of which often resolve spontaneously after exposure.
The burning skin irritation gives significant discomfort to those affected by it, and even though it often resolves on its own, one might need some quick relief from it. In addition, a good knowledge of why one experiences these kinds of skin irritation after contact with insecticide-treated mosquito nets will help one prevent such reactions in the future.
In this post, you will see the preventive measures and treatments of the burning skin irritation caused by insecticide-treated mosquito nets use for the prevention of malaria.
Why Does Insecticide-Treated Net Cause Skin Irritation
Though approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the prevention of malaria, the long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLITN) have been reported to cause mild-to-moderate skin itching in some people. This is sometimes described as burning irritation around the eye, lips, trunk, or back, with associated skin redness.
On the cause of this burning skin irritation from insecticide-treated mosquito nets, it is likely a reaction to pyrethroid chemicals impregnated into the mosquito nets. This is why such reactions have not been reported following exposure to non-treated mosquito nets.
Pyrethroids are the only insecticide class currently recommended by the WHO for treating mosquito nets. They are effective, with high excito-repellent effects on mosquitoes, and low toxicity to humans, making them the ideal chemicals for mosquito nets. Common pyrethroid examples used include Permethrin, Allethrin, Deltamethrin, and Cypermethrin, but Permethrin is the only one currently approved for mosquito net impregnation.
These substances kill adult mosquitoes by blocking sodium-gated nerve channels at doses as low as 0.5%, but also stimulate hypersensitivity skin reactions even at such low doses. This is especially observed among people who have a sensitive skin, or has a known allergy to pyrethroids, chrysanthemum plant (ragweed) and turpentine. Other side effects include headache, burning sensation, and nausea. but can often resolve spontaneously.
How to Treat Skin Irritation Caused by Mosquito Net Exposure
If you are experiencing a burning skin sensation or know anyone experiencing it, here some quick relief ways to stop the skin irritation occuring after skin contact with an insecticide-treated mosquito net. It may resolve on its own after a few minutes but these can expedite the process.
1. Washing affected skin with soap and water
Whenever you have a skin exposure to a chemical, the general first step is to wash it off with clean water and soap. This helps reduce the concentration of the chemical toxins and prevent any further absorption of the chemical into the skin. This process is known as decontamination.
2. Natural oils or vitamin E oils
Natural oils acts as solvents and adsorbents for organic substance including pyrethroids. They dissolve the chemicals on the skin and adsorb them from inside the skin pores, areas where regular washing wouldn’t have gotten to. Also, because of the solvent properties to those chemicals, they are easily adsorbed and dissolved in it.
Natural oils like palm oil, olive oil, or cod liver oil are particularly rich in vitamin E, an anti-oxidant that can help reduce inflammation, mop up free radicals, and provide soothing relief to the skin.
Here is the procedure:
- Apply a natural oil or vitamin E oil to the areas of skin affected skin.
- Leave it for a few minutes (up to 2 to 4 minutes). Avoid rubbing the area too vigorously to prevent further burning sensation from friction.
- Lastly, wash off the oil with soap and water.
3. Topical corticosteroids
A young Nigerian lady who was experiencing this skin irritation after using mosquito nets once narrated her ordeal. She mentioned trying all sorts of natural remedies like aloe vera, palm oil, talcum powoder, and oatmeal but she noted that these did not resolve the sensation for her.
If natural home-made remedies do not work for you, it might be necessary to try using topical corticosteroids. These are creams containing anti-inflammatory agents known as cortocosteroids, and are useful in the treatment of allergies, including permethrin/chrysathemum/turpentine allergies.
Precautionarily, long-term use of corticosteroids either topically (via skin application) or systemically (orally or injectables) is typically discouraged because of their risk of untoward side effects.
4. Oral anti-histamines
Anti-histamines are another class of anti-allergy medications like the cortisteroids. The block histamine receptors which is the most important chemical mediator of allergic reactions.
The most important drawbacks with antihistamines is that they may take a long time to start acting and may be useful only when the skin irritation lasts beyond an hour or two, which is often not the case. Also, some of them may cause drowsiness as a side effect when taking orally.
5. See a doctor
For every medical condition including chemical skin irritation caused by mosquito net exposure, it is always important to see a doctor after initial first-aid interventions fail to provide a lasting solution to the problem. Also, if the reactions become generalized, that is, involving other parts of your body, seeking medical attention may be necessary.
Prevention of Skin Irritation From Mosquito Nets
Having seen that the presence of pyrethroids impregnated in the insecticide-treated mosquito nets are the main culprits in this skin irritation after exposure, it becomes pretty straightforward how to prevent this occurence if you frequently experience it.
1. Properly air-dry mosquito net before use
Insecticide-treated mosquito net manufacturers usually instruct new users to air-dry them properly to prevent easy transfer to the skin following contact. Air-drying your mosquito for at least 24 hours before your first use ensures that the chemicals dry thoroughly into the net fiber before use. This can be repeated if you suspect that your net may have gotten damp after a few uses.
2. Prevent skin contact
If contact with mosquito nets chemicals is what causes the skin irritation, avoiding skin contact is therefore the number one way to prevent those effects. Create a physical barrier like wearing clothes to cover exposed areas of your skin and creating demarcations between your body and the mosquito net if you move your body on bed while sleeping.
3. Use non-treated mosquito nets
This is part of avoiding contact with the chemicals. Non-treated mosquito nets also provide some barrier against mosquito bites but not as effectively as the insecticide-treated nets. If you frequently experience skin irritation after contact with your insecticide-treated nets, get a non-treated alternative or thoroughly wash off the chemicals from your mosquito nets before re-using.
4. Try alternatives
If you are unable to find non-treated mosquito nets, there are several other alternatives you could try. Use mosquito repellant coils, vaporizers, insecticidal sprays, protective clothing (thick socks and headgear) to prevent mosquito bites, and topical mosquito repellants containing non-toxic and non-reacting chemicals like DEET, IR3535, or Icaridin.
Final words
While insecticide-treated mosquito nets are effective methods of preventing mosquito bites and malaria, it may cause significant discomfort (skin irritation) following skin exposure. This is due to presence of the pyrethroids (particularly permethrin).
Even though this skin irritation from permethrin-impregnated mosquito nets can resolve spontaneously over a few minutes to 3 hours, it can cause significant discomfort. Hence, immediate relief interventions may be needed as provided in this post.
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