Molluscum

[Borde]

My 11yr old son has Molluscum. It's just on one leg but he seems to be getting more. I've just got Molludab but am struggling to get it out the bottle. Has anyone else had this problem?

My niece had it pretty much all over- arms, hands, legs, stomach and even her face. Dermatology said it would go in 18 months, and pretty much to the day it did, leaving no trace. I know they tried various things, but nothing seemed to help.

It looks like you're putting no molludab on but you will be. You only need a tiny amount on each one. Its what finally worked for DD but we were really careful about cross contamination. Fresh PJs every night, regular bedding washing, no baths as they would leak in the bath and spread the infection, using disposible gloves whenever we dealt with them etc etc.

Eldest son had loads on his torso, molludab sorted his out really quickly.

Unfortunately he passed it on to his little brother, not as severe a case and I let nature take its course and now 9 months later they are starting to go of their own accord.

However! Baby bro passed the damn thing on to me; and I seem to have got it the worst out of all of us. My thighs are covered - I have over 100 on both inner thighs. I tried molludab but all it did was make some of them errupt into huge, painful, pus filled boils which have scarred horribly. I'm hoping my immune system will get rid of them for me soon.

I feel for your son. It's a really unpleasant skin condition to have. It takes ages to clear up and GPs don't take it seriously at all.

My eldest had molluscum for over a year. We got rid of them in the end by popping the little bastards. You need to wait for the white doughnut-shaped head to form then very carefully pop the whole white part out then immediately clean it up with antiseptic and cover with a plaster until healed.

Our doctor recommended we do this as apparently the white part is the infectious part and the life cycle of the infection is that the spots burst and spread across the skin infecting new areas. Bursting each mature spot before they burst on their own then cleaning up the sore stops the spread. It hurts like hell, but it worked to get rid of them.

Ugh. I got them years ago, so then my DH got them, and we tried everything under the sun. That first time, it lasted nearly a year and caused a huge amount of stress and anxiety.

Things I discovered through a lot of trial and error, multiple doctors trips over the years, and a lot of stress.

1. Once the virus is in your system, they may come back at any point in the future. About once a year I now find a new one. There is no 100% cure.

2. There are all sorts of theories about how to get rid of them, including popping them/prying them out, or applying various topical medicines, etc. But nothing works 100% (if at all) and there is a risk of causing scars, especially if the spots are in visible places. As a few people have said up-thread, each individual spot does go away on its own after a short period of time (about 1-2 weeks).

3. They are spread to different places on your own body by contact (contact with the white ball in the center of the spot specifically). So if you have one spot and you touch it, you can then spread it to another area of your own body if you then touch that other area. This means that even if one spot only takes two weeks to go, another one can pop up somewhere else, then another one, and another, until you think you are going crazy.

4. The solution is therefore to STOP the spread, and let each individual spot go away on its own. I found the ONLY successful remedy is to put a very secure plaster over any spots, as soon as I notice them. (Alternatively, use 'liquid bandaid' -- basically its like clear nail varnish. Anything to seal and quarantine the spot). Cover the spot up and keep it covered, even if that means you have dozens of stupid looking plasters all over your body. Don't be tempted to peek at them! Wash your hands thoroughly whenever you replace the plasters.

If you catch them early enough and cover them up, they will go away on their own without scarring and not spread. If you are applying a medicine, go ahead -- but cover them all up as well. If your son gets them again in the future, make sure he knows to put a plaster on them and keep it covered as soon as he finds the first spot.

Good luck!

@Bootsuit - I feel your pain. I had this too. Try covering them all up individually with plasters and leaving them to heal. Difficult in this heat, but the little round plasters are at least small. Wash bedclothes, towels, clothes obsessively and eventually it will pass.

Thanks everyone for so your ideas. When this is such a horrible virus, I can't understand why the medical profession aren't working on finding a cure or better treatment. I'm off to change his bed...