Molluscum worries ( again) and holiday to France

[BooCanary]

I've posted before about my DS's molluscum. Thankfully it cleared up before Xmas after a major flare up. But not before DD caught it off him .

Fast forward 4 or 5 months and DD is plastered in them, on her legs, arms, torso and neck! To make it worse she is getting horrible eczema around the bigger clusters, poor thing. Now I know from DS that they need to really flare up before they go, but I still bought some Poxiderm just in case.

My big worry is we are going to France in the summer for a few weeks, to a campsite with swimming pools. DD loves swimming, and sounds all of our holiday in the pool. On a previous thread someone mentioned that in France you are banned from pools if you have MC!! I am panicking that it won't be better by then, and our holiday will be ruined.

Firstly, is this the case re. French pools? Secondly, is it worth me trying to 'traumatise' one of DDs spots now to try and trigger the inevitable flare up? Am pretty much convinced the many remedies are useless.

[ivy30]

after long wait till my dd's molluscum cleares by itself I used lemon myrthle oil. I diluted it a bit more than was recommened (and did not use it on the face). Spots becaume inflamed and cleared away within three weeks, and she had them for about nine months. not sure if it is a coinsidence or the oil worked. I was ready to freeze them, and already made an appointment but did not need it eventually.

[Cheerymum]

Cote, tea tree alone has worked a treat for my little girl - almost gone now. Must be one of the lucky 3/18. Will add iodine if stops improving but really it has almost gone.

[CoteDAzur]

You used tea tree oil for six weeks and MC isn't gone yet. By the time it is all gone, months will have passed. Can you really be sure that it is the tea tree oil that will have hugely helped? Or could it be that the MC is just going to leave when it feels like it?w

[BooCanary]

We were told by our GP not to stop DCs swimming just because of MC. So DD does go swimming each week. Although I said she is plastered with them, they are not particularly noticeable from a distance. The only thing that is noticeable is the eczema the MC seems to have caused, which I am going back to the GP to discuss.

DSs MC flared up badly just before they went (looked like chicken pox as a previous poster mentioned). Am hoping the same doesn't happen so badly with DD, as she would be mortified, especially if it happened during the summer months.

Am going for a multi-pronged attack currently. Poxiderm on the spots, lemon myrtle showergel, immune system-related vitamins, with some silver spray for extra measure! We tried tea tree and iodine previously to little effect, but may try that again if Poxiderm doesn't work.

[gordonpym]

The link given by Cote only allows you to read the extract of the study about Tea tree oil and iodine alone or combined.For the full article you have to pay 15$. But with a little research I found it here TTO-iodine.
Interesting article, Cote, thanks for letting us know.
I'll finish the week with my odd combination of hydrogen peroxide, iodine , Elisabeth arden, bleach bath, and if i'm not happy with results, will give TTO-iodine a try next week.
Tomorrow morning I'll take and upload more photos on my profile.

[frazzledbutcalm]

gordon .. your MN5 skills were spot on .. I see Frans message has been deleted from both threads...



dd has MC starting on her nose, bit between the nostrils, it's getting bigger now. I hate them on the face

[gordonpym]

Sorry about the MC on your DD's face. Really a nasty virus, and difficult to treat there.
Does she have another spot somewhere, so you could test her reaction to tea tree oil, iodine or peroxide hydrogen? Bear in mind, if trying for the last, that sometimes, if you leave it for too long, it leaves a white patch, which is temporary but obviously very unpleasant in the middle of the face if you're 9 y old...
Whatever you do, I would recommend to combine it with a tri-antibiotic cream given its location to prevent infection.

[CoteDAzur]

I'm really having trouble understanding why all of you still struggling with MC don't take your DC to the dermatologist to have them scraped and be done with it.

[frazzledbutcalm]

cote .. am I right in thinking you're not in the UK? It's not that easy to be referred to a dermatologist! I can't afford to pay privately, I already go private for my 4dc with other issues.
gordon At the moment she only has 2, both on her face. She's had 2 others on her eyes! 1 was removed surgically, the other was on her eyelid. That was troublesome! It eventually just got so big, the pressure built up and really hurt, but it popped (such a tiny pop, literally pin prick), we managed to squeeze out the pus over a couple of days, it then scabbed and fell off a week later. Thank goodness. She really got stick at school over that one. She just seems to have everything bless her. We've just started the ball rolling for asd. She's just been diagnosed with underactive thyroid, seeing endocrinologist next week. She's hypermobile, has hip and knee problems. And now MC! Life is a challenge at times.

[CoteDAzur]

frazzled We have doctors with very reasonable fees along with the expensive ones. Is it always expensive to see a specialist without a referral from a GP in the UK?

[frazzledbutcalm]

I don't know about dermatology but I see a private podiatrist for orthotic insoles for my 4dc. I pay £25 per session (the podiatrist is lovely and doesn't charge me for lots of my appointments) and £75 per pair of insoles. Times that charge by 4 and it works out expensive. But they produce fantastic results so to me they're worth every penny! The NHS equivalent just do not compare. When it comes to dermatology I'm not even sure they'd all do what you want though. There's just so many conflicting views out there. Tbh I'd never even thought of going private though.

[Goldmandra]

I'm really having trouble understanding why all of you still struggling with MC don't take your DC to the dermatologist to have them scraped and be done with it.

I guess the first reason would be that if your GP says they can't be treated you believe them. Mine certainly neglected to tell me that there was a treatment which the NHS wouldn't cover because the problem was only cosmetic. It most certainly wasn't only cosmetic for my DDs!

Also people rarely consider going private because generally all that achieves in this country is reducing waiting times or getting a nicer room. There are, of course, other benefits but those seem to be the main two.

If someone had told me I could pay £50 per child to get rid of their MC I'd have done it in a heartbeat, despite the fact that it would have been really hard to find the money.

[gordonpym]

Cote I don't know if you have a direct experience or an internet experience of MC, but scraping them is not always a solution. My DS2's friend went 3 times to the dermatologist to have his MC scraped (curette) and they kept coming back. So now he has deep scars and even a discoloration under his nipple and MC is still there on his arm, but there is no way his mother will have it done again. She's not done with it.

Medical literature has different views on how to treat MC, but they do all share one conviction: there is not one cure for all. Yes deep deep deeeeeep scraping may do, but that mean you have to remove several layers of healthy skin to be sure not even a tiny cell of MC is left behind, but is it worth it? A permanent scar?

Am I playing the wicked witch with my son? Maybe, but I'm getting results which I'm happy with. It's a slow process.
I'm sharing my experience here on Mumsnet, giving and receiving support. Which one are you doing? Experience or support? This is not an AIBU discussion.

[CoteDAzur]

If you actually read the thread, you would see if I'm offering experience or not

I have explained my experience with MC on this thread, which is very "direct". DD had them. They were scraped. She never got them again.

Dermatologist told me at the time that it is possible that a few more might come out - those that are already infected and working their way into full blown MC bumbs. If I see any, I should bring her back immediately to do a second session. It wasn't necessary.

DD doesn't have any scars, either. Maybe your friend's dermatologist just wasn't very good?

[frazzledbutcalm]

cote maybe I was right the first time ... you sound harsh. You're probably lucky your dd doesn't have scars. All the advice online says scraping and other methods are likely to leave scars.

[CoteDAzur]

I may have found gordon's post asking whether I have only an "internet experience of molloscum" and questioning my intentions re providing information slightly annoying. Do you have a problem with that?

FYI I am not that lucky. There are loads of kids here in France who were taken to the doctor for scraping when they had just a few MC bumps and none of them have scars.

[Theonlyoneiknow]

DS has several on his forehead and probably 30 or so on his body for about 9 months. What worked was seeing the homeopathic GP who prescribed thuja and something else (cant remember!) Took one of each AM and PM. Put lemon myrtille oil on his bath and dabbed his spots with lemon myrtille ?il diluted with tea tree ?il. Any that popped we covered with manuka honey Cream and a plaster. Were gone in 5 weeks. Thankfully the scars on his face ate barely visible but has some small pitted marks on his body.

[Cheerymum]

Pleased to say my daughter's is now gone. Could have been spontaneous resolution, but the beginning of improvement certainly coincided with using tea tree oil. I don't mind that it took a couple of months - I wouldn't want to put a two year old through "scraping". Even if I could find and pay a dermatologist to do it.

[Von1982]

Hi there, i just posted today that my dd has mc and came across this thread, was hoping to find something that would clear it up. She only has one wart like spot on the middle of her back that has grown the past few months but no change recently. I have been to the dr twice and they keep saying just to let it go on its own:( its frustrating because it is noticeable if shes at her dance classes and just doesnt seem to be going away.

[Theonlyoneiknow]

If there was only one I would squeeze it, but that's just me!