I recently travelled to Peru where my legs gotten eaten by misquitos. I've rarely gotten bites in the US and my skin reacted horribly to the Peru misquitos. I'm back now and they're healing, but I'm anxious to be active again. My question is, will they heal faster if I don't run or exercise? And should I avoid the sun? It's a hot sunny weekend and I'd love to go for a run outside, but I'd rather have these heal more quick and I don't want to make them worse. Any advice?

Hi Goering,
It's really hard to say without knowing just how bad an adverse reaction you had, but I shouldn't think running in moderation will really slow the healing process. If anything, it will help bring fresh, oxygenated blood to the tissues. I would though probably try to shield the bites from the sun as much as possible. Just be careful not to overdo your run in hot weather, as any release of stress hormones such as cortisol would most certainly impair healing. You could perhaps try putting small quantities of a hydrocortisone containing cream on the bites. This may help speed healing, and would certainly reduce any itching or irritation. Enjoy your run. :)

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to run indoors and keep my legs out of the sun. I thought it could be helpful to get the blood flowing, but didn't want to risk making them worse. I have been using hydrocortisone cream a few times daily, and taking Benadryl at night for about a week to help speed this up. Thanks again!

Benadryl will only stop the itching. Unfortunately, the only remedy I know of would be time.

You were given good advice about the running. It will stimulat blood flow to the area to help speed the healing process, but definitely keep out of the sun.

Also, take baths in cool water as hot water tends to dry skin and make it itch more.

Thanks Goering. Good advice about cool water. :)