Kat de Castro: A mom vigilant against dengue

MANILA, Philippines - When broadcast journalist Kat de Castro noticed that her nine-year-old daughter Khloe — an exuberant, active and outdoor-loving child — was falling ill and burning with fever, she immediately rushed her to the hospital.

The doctors diagnosed the illness as dengue in its early stage. “It’s a good thing naagapan kaagad,” De Castro says. “We found out that she contracted it from her school. That was the time I decided that she should wear an insect repellent even when just going to school.”

De Castro found an ally in Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion Gentle Protect, which is clinically proven to be safe for a child’s skin and offers protection against insect bites (specifically against the dreaded dengue-carrying mosquitoes) for up to eight hours.

“Green Cross is a brand that we have known for generations already,” she says. “Even my mom and my dad use it.”

As a host of the long-running travel show Trip na Trip where she was able to explore the most scenic and remotest parts of the Philippines, De Castro had sampled an array of insect repellent lotions to protect her from insect bites each time she was roughing it up in the mountains or having an adventure by the sea.

“With the other insect repellants I have tried, what I noticed was I became allergic with the product itself,” she says. “So far, Green Cross is very hiyang to me and hiyang to my daughter’s skin considering that our skin is sensitive. Green Cross is the one that is most okay and something that I can recommend to other travelers or trippers as well.”

De Castro also likes the fact that both the Gentle Protect and Active Protect variants of Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion have a clean, fresh smell.

Another draw of the product for De Castro is that it’s long-lasting. Active Protect offers up to 10 hours of protection, which is perfect for her line of work, where she has to be outdoors very often.  Gentle Protect, on the other hand, boasts up to eight hours of light and non-greasy protection. With twice-a-day application, Gentle Protect essentially provides round-the-clock assurance against bites from dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Aware that dengue has four viral strains and that having it does not immunize oneself from contracting it again, De Castro has become more vigilant than ever — both for her and her daughter’s health. She regularly removes all sources of stagnant water, checks vases for mosquito larvae and has her house fumigated.

While she has taken extra precautionary measures against dengue, she says she still allows Khloe to have the full benefit of being outside in the sun and the elements.

“She’s outdoorsy,” she says of her daughter. “She loves the beach. She can stay in the beach for three days and she won’t get bored. She’s not much into toys and she can live without gadgets. I make her a nature-lover as much as possible.”

The only difference now is that she always keeps a bottle of Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion Gentle Protect handy. “You have to choose the best insect repellent for your kid, something that won’t harm their skin, and Green Cross can do that,” she advises fellow mothers. “Be knowledgeable and vigilant about dengue and use the best product for your family.”