Mosquito bite scars (black people)

[iitcord]

Hi there,

I am writing because I have over 50 black mosquito bite marks on both of my legs from when I was a child in the Caribbean. It is obvious that I must have scratched them which led to the scaring. I have no memory of doing such, but the undeniable effects have been with me for nearly 20 yrs.

To date, I have not visited a dermatologist about this, as I had basically resigned myself to their reality. However, tonight I randomly decided to do a search online and stumbled upon this site. I have not been able to find out much information on these types of skin blemishes in black people.

I am Olympic level athlete who has to expose his legs in public at competition (plus I would like to expose them anyway). This has been a very 'traumatic' experience, per se, because they are not the most sightly display and I am involved in photoshoots, etc.

I am interested in whether or not you have seen such cases, and if so, what are the possible courses of actions that you can suggest. Please not that owing to their number and proximity, it is almost impossible to put cream on individual black marks. Also, due to the rigourous drug testing that I must undergo, I am restricted from taking or using (even topically) certain products.

Doc, any assistance on this issue would be deeply appreciated

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Marks on legs are notorious for lasting indefinitely and resisting treatment.  This is especially true in black people, but actually applies to all people.  This means that it is unlikely that anything will help you much.  You might at least consider applying a cream containing hydroquinone, or a newer one containing a combination of hydroquinone, tretinoin, and a topical steroid.  To be frank, neither of these is likely to make that much difference, but at least they are safe.  Perhaps you can try them on one area as a test.  (It also depends on the ruling of the Olympic Committee on these medications, so check the list.)  What you should not do is have laser treatment or any other procedure, such as a chemical peel, as these may not just fail but may make them worse.

There is, of course, also leg makeup . . . .

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[tribb]

A related discussion, BETtER tHE APpEARANCE was started.

[vallybaby]

A related discussion, scars on my legs was started.

[iitcord]

Hi Doc,

Thanks for the repl. I'm sorry to hear your prognosis, but I guess that's part of being human.

I had spoken to my nutritionist about the problem and here's what he replied:

"Any of the skin creams are OK as long as they don't contain any
corticosteroids. Hydroquinone and tretinoin are OK to use. If you need info
on these I can send some to you but you're just as well to look them up
yourself on the Internet."

In the light of this is there anything that you could recommend?