Molluscum

[PrettyCandles]

3yo ds2 has had molluscum for about a year. The first, largest spots are on his torso, but fortunately all the rest are on his bum. Lots of tiny ones, many deep between his bumcheeks.

Ds1 had it for about 18m-2y, and in the months before it finally cleared up some of the spots became quite large and itchy. Not infected.

What can I do to help ds2 when he gets to this stage? I'm a little worried because of the position of most of the spots, and the potential for infection if he scratches.

prick them to make them react. cover in a barrier cream and then wait for them to disappear. My DS1 had over 100 and i did this and within a month they reated,went red and then just disappeared.
I read one of my old dermatolgy books and pricked them with a cocktail stick dipped in iodine.

Prick them? I can just see ds co-operating with that - they're between his buttocks!

Even if I do do that, there's still the worry about infection because of the location.

Prick the large ones - the rest will react and then they will go. They will be a bit red and sore, but the body will learn to fight them. And just be scrupulous about wiping etc. DD didn't scratch hers at all, and was just happy to see them go.

Thanks for the advice by the way alypaly, I read it on another thread and it finally got rid of DD's molluscum.

prettycandles...thats why i mentioned the barrier cream...something like Siopel cream on them after you have pricked them. That should minimalise any infection but diluted iodine dabbed on will help too.

Glad it worked for you omicron. My GP was rubbish,he just said they will go....but how do you tell a child that when they look as though they are covered in warts. I worked in dermatology for quite a while and to be honest ,some of the old remedies are the best even if a little sadistic

PC....start on the ones on the torso first as they may trigger the reaction on the bum...give them a really good stab in the middle as there is a little white plug of hard gunge in the middle.

Would Sudocrem do for barrier?

Where do I buy iodine? Definitely an old-fashioned remedy - I remember having my legs and arms painted with it quite regularly as a child, but nobody my age in England seems ever to have used it.

The two spots on his torso, which were definitely the first to appear and looked very pox-like at first, do not appear to have the white centre. One has become slightly dimpled in the centre - vaguely donut-like. I know what they should look like from ds1's bout but they look nothing like that. The ones on his bum are developing the white centre but are tiny.

Ohhhh, he's gonna love me for this.

sorry its not white...its flesh coloured,but it does have that punctate donut centre. If you squeezed hard a tiny plug somtimes comes out.

sudocreme isnt a true barrier cream. You need conotrane or siopel( something with simethicone or dimeticone in it) if you are going to prick the ones on his bum...but i would start with the ones on the torso first.

You can get the neat iodine from a pharmacy and just dip the end of the cocktail stick in it and then prick the molluscum.If you cant get a tiny bottle of iodine,they nmay have something called betadine. It is just a strong antiseptic. It worked on both my boys and got rid of a really serious case of over 100 with DS1. He was too embarrassed to take his t shirt off at school as everyone called him warty.

my gp said the same thing that there was no treatment....bah...what do they know.

its actually the trauma to them that sets off a chain reaction...its abit like a chemical reaction that triggers off all the others to go inflamed and then they just disappear. So dont worry if they become inflamed. Obviously if they look infected, see doc but DS1 's didnt get infected and TBH i havent heard of any getting infected.

My dd2 has about thirty all round her arm pit , spreading to her torso .She has a few infected at the moment so my GP has presribed anti biotic cream for those .The ones infected are due to the movement of her arm causing friction . My GP told me to prick them with a cocktail stick and she prescribed me with a barrier cream for them .They are now starting to go so agree with Alypaly have to say my GP is great.

you have a good gp mum2. Has he given you bactroban or fucidin cream?
If an infection does occur it can trigger off the same reaction,but just redness on its own is just the reaction to the stimulus. yellowy gunge is when they become infected. Sorry if TMI

My GP gave me bactroban the ones infected are yellow/green and foul smelling the skin around the wart is red .What worried me is after treating previous infected ones they turned black but my Gp assured me that was normal . She was very sympathetic and said her own son had suffered with them and then told me to prick them with a cocktail stick and gave a presription for Siopel to use as a barrier . I am going to get some iodine as I think thats a great idea

You may want to try Manuka honey as an alternative. My 2 year old daughter had the spots on her arm, foot and torso for about 4 months and they were spreading. Read about the honey on netdoctor and decided to give it a try. We applied it twice a day and within three weeks all spots were gone. Fantastic stuff.

I second the advice about the manuka honey. i bought it as an ointment - DD had it for around 6 months - we tried homeopathy which did work to a certain extent (some started to bleed after she took the remedy but thye came back) on hands, arms, torso, even in vagina and it was getting worse and worse but within 2 weeks of starting with the honey it had all gone - i applied it several times a day and did try to prick the bigger ones.

I tried Manuka honey on ds1 (dh was appalled to see that I'd paid £15 for a small jar of honey!) but it had no apparent effect. The pox did seem to come to a head at that point, but it could just have been coincidence that that happened when I was treating it with honey. It took another few months before all the pox healed up and no more appeared.

In general they seemed to develop a head and become slightly inflamed and itchy just before they finally healed up, whether or not I treated them.

Sorry to be dense, but am not British - is a cocktail stick the same as a toothpick?

Would it work to use diluted tea tree oil instead of iodine?

Thanks.

Thanks for these useful postings. I'll dare to try something now. My 3y.o. DD has had it for over a year, now they're spreading and we're sick of waiting for them to go on their own. I'll try this if she'll let me. And if DH lets me. He's very protective but 'wants something done...'
P.S cocktail sticks are small double pointy ended sticks for spearing an olive for your Martini, or a lump of cheese and pineapple (or is that just a British thing?) You find them near the cake cases and baking stuff in the supermarket. I think Iodine would beat Tea Tree as you'd want something quite irritant to stir up a reaction in the molloscum and trigger your natural resistance to the virus. And it's antiseptic.

its the actual trauma to the molluscum that causes the reaction. My dermatolgy book just advised iodine,probably because of its antiseptic properties.

I 'paid' my DD in choc buttons (one per stab) to get her to let me prick her spots. She has been left with one on her groin that scarred-the rest went with no scarring

glad they have gone..nice one with the rewards

DD has a few raised 'bumps' on her face - just under her nose/above her lip that have been there for several months.

Could it be molluscum on her face?

If yes, what is the suggested treatment?

COMFREY CREAM

not to be used on broken skin

it's marvellous

early bird..have never seen them on the face...just had a look in dermatolgy book and it normally is on torso and thighs. Get her checked to be sure....have you got a piccy.....

DDs friend had them on her face - fortunately not many, they were high on one cheek bone, to the side of her eye. She was 9 and not impressed.

Our Ds has just sort of grown out of them, but had them right in his groin and at the top of his thigh. Fortunately not many because it was a v uncomfortable place

here

like toothpicks but finer