How to Protect Yourself and Yours Kids from West Nile Virus by Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach

“How to Protect Yourself and Yours Kids from West Nile Virus,”

by Susan Dunn, MA, Emotional Intelligence Coach

TAKE THE MOSQUITO-BAIT QUIZ:

Who is most likely to get bit by mosquitoes?

a.Tom, who goes jogging at dawn in his shorts and tank top.

b.Mary, who sprays her hair, puts on deodorant, perfume, sunscreen, and her sharp-but-scanty black patio dress, and heads for a late afternoon lawn party, ready to party into the night.

c.Harry, who is into fixing cars but not into house and yard maintenance. His country acreage features discarded tires, weeds and dense shrubs, old window screens he’s never replaced, and a stagnant fish pond.

d.Neil, who sweats profusely and likes to wear white linen shorts and shirts with his Birkenstocks when sitting out back at dusk.

e.Billy, age 4, who gets up at 6 a.m., eats a quick banana and then heads outside to play in the mud puddles on the patio.

f.Ken’s cookout guests who gather around the barbecue at dusk after a brisk game of volleyball, eating potato chips and peanuts while he cranks up the fire for hamburgers.

The answer: All of the above.

As the summer escalates, it’s important to protect yourself and your children from mosquito bites. Mosquitoes carry viruses – encephalitis, malaria, dengue fever, and now West Nile – and the collective amount of virus builds as the summer progresses.

INSECT REPELLANT

You’re probably leery of insect repellants, especially DEET, so I offer other suggestions. Do consider its use in extreme situations. I haven’t hesitated to use it when in the Caribbean (dengue fever) or St. Petersburg (built on a drained swamp), just as I got my immunizations up-to-date for travel in these countries. (Diphtheria outbreak in Moscow.)

I don’t use insect repellants at home in the US, except when visiting my friends whose yard is a mosquito-breeding haven, and whose children lure me outside at dawn and dusk.

If you use insect repellant, be aware that the following things will dilute its effectiveness: rain, perspiration, swimming, many sunscreens, evaporation from wind or high temperatures, and absorption into the skin.

When applying, especially to children, read the instructions carefully, and follow them. This applies to both application and storage.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

1. Clean up your yard!

Mosquitoes breed in standing water, which requires a container. Eliminate anything around your yard that supplies a container for water – tires (the number one breeding site for mosquitoes in the US!), children’s toys and play equipment, dishes left out, plant containers, dog water dishes, bird baths and water gardens that don’t have circulating water. Eliminate weeds, shrubs and tall grass; that’s where the adults like to hide.

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BIO:

©Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . I offer coaching, Internet courses, teleclasses and ebooks around emotional intelligence. I train and certify EQ coaches. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for information on this fast, affordable, comprehensive program with no residency requirements. For FREE EQ ezine, email me and put “ezine” for subject line.

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