Brides and grooms-to-be are being urged to ‘think mosquito’ when planning their honeymoon.
Mosquito expert Howard Carter said many couples forget to think about protecting themselves against malaria and other tropical diseases amid the excitement and stress of wedding and honeymoon planning.
Research by incognito shows that more than half of people on their honeymoon are bitten by an insect and of these, almost 10% (9.42%) will have their honeymoon ruined because of illness and even hospitalisation. 20 per cent – predominately women – will develop scars from the bites.
“Honeymooners are risking an unpleasant start to married life if they do not remember to take precautions against malaria and other tropical illnesses like Dengue fever,” said Mr Carter, founder of natural insect repellent incognito.
“Increasingly, newlyweds are choosing more tropical and adventurous holidays as their honeymoon destination so they need to think about how they are going to prevent bites from disease-carrying insects. Even those planning a break in Europe need to be aware of malaria as mosquitoes exist there too!”
Mr Carter, who founded incognito after he suffered from both malaria and Dengue fever in the space of year, said destinations growing in popularity among honeymooners included South East Asia, India and South America.
He added: “It is easy for couples to get caught up in the excitement of planning their honeymoon but it is important that they understand the risks when travelling to endemic areas or they could end up coming back with a nasty souvenir – it only takes one mosquito bite to be infected with malaria or Dengue fever.”
Experts agree that the best protection is to not get bitten at all and Mr Carter has devised CLOAK – an acronym which offers six tips to help prevent mosquito bites. They include:
C – Cover up arms and legs with suitable clothing.
L – Light coloured clothing is strongly advisable.
O – Odours, bodily or otherwise like certain kairomones and perfumes are strong attractants. Therefore washing thoroughly which includes exfoliating is essential to minimise odours.
A – Apply an effective insect repellent.
K – Keep away from stagnant water.
Travellers should also be aware that anti-malaria medication alone is not a panacea as some malaria parasites have built up a resistance to anti-malaria drugs – for example Cheryl Cole contracted malaria whilst taking them.
incognito insect repellent is DEET-free and made from natural ingredients. It has proved to be 100 per cent effective against more than 3,000 varieties of mosquito and other biting and stinging insects. It is also the only insect repellent product authorised by UK trading standards as ‘clinically proven to protect against malaria’.
Malaria is one of the most significant diseases in the world. Over 300 million cases and between 700,000 and 2.4 million deaths are reported each year in affected areas. According to figures by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the number of UK residents being infected with malaria has increased by 30% over the past two years.
Other products in the incognito range include toiletries such as soaps, shampoos and after sun cream, mosquito nets, incense sticks and essential oil organic Java citronella oil. They are available from Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, John Bell & Croyden, Planet Organic, Whole Foods, Trailfinders Travel Clinics, health shops and selected branches of The Co-operative Pharmacy this summer. Also direct from the incognito website www.lessmosquito.com.
(pic via honeymoontips.co.uk)