Oh no I think ds has got molluscum! What do can I do?????

[Yurtgirl]

I first noticed raised skin coloured spots on his elbow a few weeks ago, now he has got bumps on his hands and possibly elsewhere

Does that sound like molluscum?

What useful things can I do to help?
How long till it goes away?
Do I need to tell the school?
Is it mega contagious?

etc etc

TIA

Another 2 questions! - Can adults get it? Can you have it if you have had it already?

there isnt much you can do really and it is not anything to worry about. It can take a few months or a few years to go away - dd had hers for over a year and ds has had his for a good few months now. There isnt any need to tell the school and you dont need to restrict any activities e.g. swimming.

molluscum contagiosum

according to the link most people are naturally immune to it but adults can get it. If you have had it you dont tend to get it again.

I wouldn't worry - 2 of my 3dd's have had it to varying degrees and both times it has totally gone after some time- not quickly mind - each episode probably stayed with them for a good 6 months

There is nothing you can do as far as I am aware but I just wanted to let you know that both of my DSs had mild doses of it and it lasted for about a year but they had very few spots and hardly anyone noticed.

nothing you can do and nothing you have to do
dd2 had it for nearly two years
dd3 has it but its going and has maybe only been about 8 or so months

Thankyou for the advice I was starting to panic!

Phew - Do I need to take him to a gp to get it confirmed?
I am only guessing its molluscum

do they look sort of warty? DD and ds call them 'bobbly bits'. I got dd's confirmed by the gp as I had never seen them before but as I knew what they were by the time ds got them I didnt take him to the gp.

I have recently started adding Grapefruit Seed Extract and Tea Tree Oil to my DD's bath and have been putting the same diluted in olive oil directly onto them and they are now considerably smaller. The difference was noticeable within 24-48 hours. HTH

Yes they look a bit like soft (ie not crusty like a wart) warts - he has got loads of them

It says on nhs direct, go and see gp if child has more than 20 as it demonstrates a poor immune system - which is strange as ds is rarely ill!

I will have a proper look tommorrow but tbh I dont want him to know he has it as he will be distressed (he has aspergers)

Mrsalwaysright - thats a good tip, thanks

My GP explained that they go undected by the immune system unless they get infected which is why they take so long to go. However I let dd scratch hers (she has excema so they were itchy) and that made them go within a few weeks however if you have several clusters then you need to scratch each cluster IYSWIM.