SeeVay is a baby product store that provides comprehensive safety checklists and a curated selection of high-quality, safe baby products. Our mission is to give new moms peace of mind by ensuring their baby’s safety is always top of mind.
Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by consumers.
Get involved
Issues we work on
The payment for your account couldn’t be processed or you’ve canceled your account with us.
Sign In
We don’t recognize that sign in.
Your username maybe be your email address. Passwords are 6-20 characters with at least one number and letter.
We still don’t recognize that sign in.
Retrieve your username.
Reset your password.
*Required
*Required
Forgot your username or password?
Don’t have an account?
My account
Save products you love, products you own and much more!
Other Membership Benefits:
Suggested Searches
Cars
Car Ratings & Reviews
CARS
2023 Top Picks
Car Buying & Pricing
Which Car Brands Make the Best Vehicles?
Car Maintenance & Repair
Best Tire Values
Key Topics & News
CAR NEWS
Listen to the Talking Cars Podcast
Home & Garden
Bed & Bath
Top Picks for the Bathroom
Best Bath Towels
Lawn & Garden
TOP PICKS FROM CR
Best Lawn Mowers and Tractors of 2023
Home Improvement
Home Improvement Essential
Best Roofing Shingles of 2023
Home Safety & Security
HOME SAFETY
Best DIY Home Security Systems of 2023
Appliances
Kitchen
REPAIR OR REPLACE?
What to Do With a Broken Appliance
Small Appliances
TOP PICKS FROM CR
Best Small Kitchen Appliances
Laundry & Cleaning
Top Picks From CR
Best Laundry Gear & Vacuums
Heating, Cooling & Air
Saving Money
How to Lower Utility Bills When the Temperature Rises
Electronics
Home Entertainment
FIND YOUR NEW TV
Best TVs of 2023
Home Office
GET BETTER WIFI NOW
Best and Worst Home Internet Providers
Smartphones & Wearables
BEST SMARTPHONES
Find the Right Phone for You
Digital Security & Privacy
MEMBER BENEFIT
CR Security Planner
More
Take Action
We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.
The World Health Organization in 2016 declared the rapid spread of the Zika virus—which has been linked to serious birth defects and is transmitted mainly by mosquitoes—an international public health emergency. To protect yourself from the threat of Zika and other mosquitoborne diseases, such as West Nile virus, check out Consumer Reports’ test results and Ratings of mosquito repellents—including those that will protect you best against Aedes mosquitoes, the type that carry Zika.
The Zika virus can make anyone sick for up to a week with fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes, and other symptoms. But it’s especially dangerous for women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy because it increases the risk of babies born with microcephaly, a condition marked by an abnormally small head and incomplete brain development.
There is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease or drug to treat it, making it essential that people avoid mosquito bites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC emphasizes that avoiding mosquito bites requires multiple strategies, such as wearing long-sleeved pants and shirts when outdoors. But it says that mosquito repellents are essential, too.
“Using an insect repellent is one of the best ways you can protect yourself from Zika and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes," says Harry Savage, chief of ecology and entomology activity at the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.
And Consumer Reports’ tests showed that some repellents worked much better than others at protecting mosquitoes.
The CDC has urged pregnant women against travel to countries where Zika has been reported, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Cases of Zika have been reported in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
To find the most effective mosquito repellents, we tested products containing a variety of ingredients, including deet, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), chemicals called IR3535 and 2-undecanone, as well as a variety of plant oils, such as cedar, citronella, geraniol, lemongrass, and rosemary.
The most effective products were those that contained 15 to 30 percent deet, 20 percent picaridin, or 30 percent OLE.
We advise skipping most products made with natural plant oils, such as those with citronella, lemongrass oil, cedar oil, and other ingredients. They did not perform well in our tests.
In addition, those products are not registered by the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates skin-applied repellents and evaluates them for safety and effectiveness. Most plant-oil products are exempt from scrutiny by the EPA because the agency considers them to be a minimum risk to human health.
Instead, the CDC recommends using EPA-registered insect repellents. To see if a mosquito repellent is registered by the EPA, look for its registration number ("EPA Reg.") on the back of the label.
Tell us about it below.
Insect repellents that use deet come in varying concentrations, ranging from 4 percent to 100 percent. Our previous tests show that concentrations of 30 percent provide the same protection against mosquitoes as higher percentages for up to 8 hours. But higher concentrations of deet have been linked to rashes, disorientation, and seizures. That’s why Consumer Reports says you should avoid mosquito repellents with more than 30 percent deet and not use it at all on infants younger than 2 months.
Women who are pregnant or breast feeding can safely use deet, picaridin, lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535, according to the EPA, if they are applied properly. Here are tips from the EPA on how to use insect repellent:
Check our mosquito repellent Ratings.
We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.
Be the first to comment
source
At SeeVay, we know that the safety and well-being of your baby is your top priority. That’s why we’re dedicated to providing you with the tools you need to make sure you’re always on top of your baby’s safety. We understand that being a new mom can be overwhelming, and there’s so much information out there that it can be hard to know where to start.
