Molluscum Contagiosum

Hey L.,

I think you should make an appointment with the MD. I have a hard time with NP's (who are simply RN's with 1 or 2 more years of training after they receive their BSNs) making a new diagnosis without the backup of an MD. I say this because I am an RN with my BSN. If she left you confused not knowing what it is or how to take care of it, etc, you need to see the doctor.

Definately the dermatologist. My daughter had a sort of exsema, and she had to go under lights for a while to get rid of it. She hasnt seen it since. Dr. Scarlett at UMSL is excellent. ###-###-####

you should just put a call into the derm's office and let them know you have more questions. they will be able to answer them over the phone, b/c they have already diagnosed her so that's not the issue. issue is that you just need to be reassured and educated. write down all the questions you can think of before you make the call so that you have them right there in front of you. that way you wont forget any.

My son had a pretty bad case of it. BE PATIENT. It will go away.

We saw Dr. Brandon Newell at CMH and he was great. We started with just a topical medication that was placed on each spot. My son kept getting new ones so we added an oral medication and another topical that I put on him at home, in addition to the regular dermatological visits. It was completely gone within a year and he has had no new breakouts for over 6 months now. There is little scaring.

It sucks but stay with it because it can get so much worse. You can call the dermatology clinic at CMH and talk with a nurse about putting your daughter in the tub or swimming pool or any other question you have. The staff is excellent. They see cases of this every day and have lots of information about it.

R. Nevins

You NEED to know by a doctor that's what she has & how to treat it. I'm NOT saying that the nurse didn't know what she was talking about but that's what we pay them for (doctor's). You might even seek the help of a dermatologist but don't go in there with blinders on. She won't be able to go swiming at least make sure first before her summer is ruined. Good luck & God Bless!

My daughter had molluscom contagiosum when she was three. We adopted her from an orphanage in Russia, and she had a pretty severe case with numerous bumps. I would suggest taking your daughter to a dermatologist first, to confirm the diagnosis. If it is CM, it will take the bumps a very long time to go away without intervention, and she'll be contagious. Honestly, you will probably need to remove each "pimple" (the core inside the bump) by hand. Our dermatologist tried 2-3 different techniques, including trying to burn them off, sort of like wart remover, but they didn't work well and were painful. The medication created nasty blisters on each bump. While it was not pleasant, the most effective and least painful technique for us was to use a little hand tool that dermatologists use for popping zits - it is about the size of a pair of tweezers and has holes in each end. I used it to remove 2-3 each night after her bath, until they were all gone. The dermatologist used the same technique to remove the ones in sensitve areas. Fortunately, our daughter is one tough cookie! I would NOT bathe your kids together or let her go swimming until all the bumps are gone. Good luck. It was NOT a fun experience.

We found a product that works. It is called Molluscum No More, it can be found on the website www.fonoils.com. It is not cheep, I think we spent $45 for the small bottle. (we still have 3/4 left) When you use it, be sure to use a qtip to apply, cover the area with gauze pads taped down and wash wash wash. Wash the towels and sheets, clothes and pajamas every day. Wash your hands after touching or changing the dressings. Make sure they are bathed every day and put new dressings on before bed and again in the morning. This remedy does not smell pretty, but it cleared it up for both of our kids in about 4 weeks.
Most likely, our kids got it from the mats in gym class at school. The reason it takes awhile to get rid of is,it itches, kids scratch and it spreads. Cortizone did not work, benedril did not work. This is a natural, organic oil that is a more wholist approach that I was skeptical of, but it worked. Good luck and wash your hands.

My 8 year old son had molluscum all over one of his arms. We went to the dermatologist, who put some "bug juice" on the spots. This ointment is from poisonous beetles and is supposed to "burn" the molluscum off. Unfortunately, this didn't work so well, and my son continued getting the small warts all over his body. At the next dermatologist visit, she cut them off of his skin with a little tool that looked like a tiny ice cream scoop. This worked well, though my son screamed the entire time while we held him down. It was pretty awful. He had a few appear on and off after that, but we let them go away on their own. My younger son also got them, even though we did not let them bathe together. He still has a few on his bottom. We decided to leave his alone so that he would not have to go through the trauma that my older son went through. It's easy to ignore his, because they are in a spot we don't see every day. They will go away on their own, but it takes time. Just keep your child from picking on them, and they shouldn't spread too much. Good luck.

Hi L.,

We struggled with molluscum for an entire summer and maybe a little more. We went to the MD who said you have to remove or pop the heads on the "pox". This proved to be extremely painful and torturous to my son. I got a referral to a dermatologist who prescribed some very expensive ointment that they use with herpes patients to activate the immune system. You put it on the sores and it irritates them and my son became red and sore and scaley. He looked like he had been burned.

I started reading on the internet after that and the info indicated that the molluscum is commonly caught at swimming pools. So, I would imagine that it can be easily carried to that environment, as well. My daughter never did catch it from bathing with my son, though, and they did bathe together at that age.

I finally got some stuff off the internet. It is an herbal blend and seemed benign after what we had already been through. It worked within a couple of weeks and used very little of the liquid to treat it. I don't remember the website but the name of it is virucide. It is sold by CBR, Inc. our of Boise ID. The phone number on the bottle is ###-###-####-- we used it about 4 years ago so I have no idea if they are still in business.

Good luck!

L. C.

Good for you for checking up on it-people rely too much on their doctors these days, they're smart, but not always right. Get a second opinion, that's your right. Another dermatologist would be your best bet. Besides, that doctor should've answered all of your questions and explained everything in length and detail-its your kid for heaven's sake! Good luck, hope your daughter feels better :)

L.,

my kids have both got this problem, i have not found any thing that says that they cant go in the pool lake ocean any thing like that, the derm doctor never said anything either. Cortixone is good but doesnt always work. My daughter has still itched constantly. My youngest didnt have the problem until they bathed together, dont let them bath together, and bleach or really clean the tub when she is done, another thing avoid giving a bath, try giving showers, if she sits in the water it can make them itch worse. I would also check with the Derm doc themself due to the fact that he would know alot more.

If you need anything let me know, and know you arent alone.

Hi! I am the mother of four boys, three of which who have had this and I now currently have it. It is contagious, but only through direct contact like using the same towel. It can go away on its own, but I have always had my children's spots removed. There is an outpatient surgical procedure that your local physician can do. After applying a topical numbing agent, the doctor takes a small surgical knife, cuts a small slit and removes the hard core. The small amount of blood is dried and bandages applied (those small circle ones). The scab dries up within days and no scars result.
Another method is "freezing" or "burning" them off with liquid nitrogen. I do not recommend this one because it does leave small scars (my youngest had this procedure done.
Whether you choose to wait for it to go away on its own or have one of the above procedures done, there is NO reason why you cannot take your child to the pool. Good Luck! Kati

Hi L.,
I am going through this right now with my six year old daughter. We went to our regular pediatrician and they diagnosed us, and said it has to run it's course. Then I did some research and found out exactly how long it takes! I was horrified by the pictures I saw. There were children with it covering their hands, face, feel, etc. My daughter mostly has it on her bottom and the tops of her thighs. I took her to a dermatologist and they indicated that we had two choices - we could wait it out, or remove them. With summer coming, I decided to remove them. I went through a MILLION dermatologists some remove them with a "tool," and some use a cream. We went to one that uses the cream. They put some on all of the spots. Then it gets ugly, because they turn into blisters before they go away. We have been back twice, and have at least one more trip. It is very painful for her, but the only way to make the virus dormant before it runs it's course is to remove all of them. I went to Cecil J. Fackrell in an office outside of St Joseph. I was very impressed with how he handled my daughter and the entire situation. It's one of those times when you just have to make a judgement call... Good luck!

Hi L.,
My middle daughter, 10 yrs old, started with these bumps at the beginning of last summer. When our ped. told us what it was, and then told us it takes so long to go away, I was really frightened for her, and then when I researched it on the internet I became even more so!

We saw a dermatologist who gave us three options. Try to manually remove them and deal with the scarring, use the topical treatment that kind of burns them off, or just wait and see. Well, my daughter did not want to deal with any of the pain so we decided on the 3rd option. He did give us a Rx for some (expensive) cream to help with the itching.

It went on for over 6 months and showed no signs of getting better, and seemed to be getting worse, so I made an appt with a different dermatologist for a second opinion. Had to wait for several months, and with in that time the bumps started to go away on their own about mid Feb of this year.

So, as it turns out, the wait and see approach was the best option for her, although the hardest part about that for her was having to deal with the embarrassment, both from people asking her about it and the possibility of being contagious.

I do have to tell you that NONE of the rest of my family, 5 in all, ever showed any signs of it. I was especially worried that my younger daughter would come down with it as she has eczema and always has many open wounds from scratching, but she did not. None of her friends came down with it either. We tried to keep her towels separate but other than that I really did not do much else to isolate her from the rest of the family. At first we told her not to lay in the other kids beds either but that just got too difficult to enforce and it made her feel like an outcast and not able to participate in being with her sisters at bedtime. I figured if it were going to go on for years that that could have been fairly traumatic for her. We even swam together, etc.

Apparently, it can be contagious but I wanted to let you know that that was not the case in our family. I do not know of anyone else that has contracted this so I don't know how common it is.

Best of luck to you and if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

L.

my son had this when he was young. he is now 19 years old, back then internet was new i had never heard of it and the only place then i could find information on it was Australia and as we lived in eastern resort coastal area i assumed that it was from going to the beach and ocean daily in the summer, maybe from the public showers who knows but at that time i thought it was related to sun exposure.. he eventually had them cyrotherapy to burn them off.. but that was about 4 years after he contracted them on his arms, they were never anywhere where he was covered by clothes... he still has the scars , i was so angry at the time that his father had them burned off because he was only about 8 years old at the time and neglected to tell me that he had this done while at his home, i would suggest trying some of the elderberry juice or some other topical first sounds like they work, wish the net was like it is now with all this great advice at mamasource and on the net good luck

If the person you are seeing right now is not being helpful, I would definitely suggest getting a second opinion. It is unlikely that it will be something else, but another doctor may be more helpful and give you more information and better ways to handle this.
--S.

My daughter had them when she was younger, on her thighs. they kept rubbing and transfering back and forth. Her Pediatrician said they are a virus, kind of related to warts. - and there's not much to do to get rid of a virus. there's stuff to 'pop and dig" the white root-center out all the time, and let them heal so it doesn't spread back and forth. that sounded to painful and like my daughter would not like it at all.. but...
My mom is into vitamins and health foods and suggested 'Elderberry juice concentrate".
My daughter had had molluscums for months and months, and within weeks of taking the elderberry every night before bed, they all had healed and were gone.
I just mixed one teaspoon of elderberry with a small glass of 'sprite' or with orange juice and let her drink it.
a year later my son was 5 and in wrestling and started to get them (from the mats that get sweated on- apparently) I immedialtly started him on the elderberry and again, they went away very quickly.

My daughter was diagnosed with molluscum when she was 3. Our doctor had us use cimetidine (Tagamet) which is actually an anti-ulcer medication, but it has an off-label use for treating molluscum. It took about 3 months and she was cleared up. You might visit with a doctor about what they think about that treatment.

M.

Our son (8 years) was told the other day he had this as well. He only has one bump though, and has had that one bump for about 5 months. Our pediatrician said it would take care of itself - may get really itchy as it comes to a head and to cover it with a bandaid to prevent breaking the surface of the skin. He didn't say anything about staying out of pools. He did also say it could take up to a year to clear up. We saw the nurse practitioner first and she was the one to diagnose, but we saw our pediatrician as well and he agreed with the diagnosis. If it will put you at ease, I'd say to go back and see the dr., but it sounds like the nurse told you accurate info.

Go to another Doctor! Call the clinic numbers other Moms have suggested. Become an expert on this - for your peace of mind and for your daughters health! Mommies often know better than doctors what's best for their kiddos...

And, as freaked out about this as you are, you don't want to risk exposing other kids to it - you don't want other families to go thru this because she wanted to go swimming!

I say, buy her a brand new sprinkler, let her pick it out to make it really special. With a little whitewash job from her *fabulous* mommy she won't think she's missing out on anything! :)

I hope all your fears are calmed, you find the answers you need and the MC clears right up!

T.

I'd talk to your regular doctor too, just to make him aware and maybe get some more professional input, but as yucky as it is, there's no need to panic. It's just going to take awhile. My friend's daughter had it and she never passed it to anyone else in the family. It took almost a year for her to get over it, though, and there is a little scarring left behind.

click on this link or copy and paste it to your search bar... hope it helps? http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/molluscum-contagiosum...

I have more than my share of experience with this. My oldest son got it about 4 years ago. After about 6 months, my younger son had it as well. So, here's two things I noticed right away in your post. 1. Yes, your younger son can get it from bathing with your oldest. It happened to me. In fact, I am certain that my oldest got it from bathing with a little friend who I didn't know at the time had it. 2. It CAN go away in 6-12 months. Neither of my boys' went away on their own. My oldest son finally had to have the lesions removed by a dermatologist about a year ago (so he had it at least 3 years.) The friend whose child gave it to my mine, also had to have hers removed. My younger son didn't seem as bothered by it and it didn't seem as bad, so I left it along until now. It has now been over three years for him and we have an appointment with a dermatologist next week. I'm done! They really do like you to give it time to go away because the removal process can be painful. However, knowing what I know now, I would have done it righ away. Because, look at us, we are almost 4 years down the road and still dealing with it. It never has come back in my older son, but it is just getting worse in my younger son and it's not fair for him to have to continually deal with this for so long. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to help. I don't want anyone to deal with this as long as I have.

I didn't read all the responses, but here is a suggestion....Go to your local healthfood store and buy a bottle of Tea Tree Oil and put a few drops in her bath water...It is a natural antibacterial and cleanser. It is a VERY versatile oil that can be used for many many things.