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Original poster

Molluscum - any treatment suggestions please?

32 replies

PamT · 31/12/2003 22:48

DS1 (nearly 11) has molluscum rashes on his thigh, chest and back and is quite heavily infected. The doctor has said that we just have to wait for it to go away of its own accord which can take up to 2 years or in some cases into teenage years. I am keen to get rid of these spots as soon as possible and we are willing to try any remedies. I'm a bit wary of popping all the spots as there are so many of them and have been told that this can cause scarring. Any other ideas? We don't have a lot of money so paying for a full consultation with a homeopath might be out of our reach. Is there anything that can be bought off the shelf? (and if so do you swallow it or rub it on?)

OP posts:
codswallop · 31/12/2003 22:50

me too

mistletoes · 31/12/2003 23:28

PamT, You may want to do some internet research on dermatological sites. I had molluscum a long time ago, and the dermatologist had to scrape them off and gave me a topical cream to prevent spreading.

Original poster
PamT · 01/01/2004 07:10

Mistletoes, I've looked on lots of web sites and the advice seems to be conflicting. Some of them do say that the spots should be removed and an acid be applied to kill off the virus but they also say that this should only be done by a doctor or nurse as the acid is very strong and dangerous. They also seem to say that removing spots can cause scarring and can be painful so is not generally recommended for children. Our GP was not willing to offer any treatment and said that they should be left alone so now I'm looking at alternative medicines/therapies.

Codswallop, does your message mean that you are looking for help to treat molluscum too? How many children do you have infected with it? It is very contagious and the doctor seemed to think that my other two would be infected too.

OP posts:
codswallop · 01/01/2004 07:58

My prob sounds more minor - I think ds2 has a couple on his tum

batey · 01/01/2004 08:23

How weird, I started a thread on this a few days ago. Have a look back down on the health topic, there's a link to info about Echinacea- a off the shelf homeopathic remedy. Which I'll be getting for my dd2 tomorrow btw!

mears · 02/01/2004 13:25

When ds had molluscum - GP recommended popping some of them with the end of a cocktail stick. I did that and they started to disappear. Same happened with dd. They were not extensive areas though. They have n't left scarring on ds but they have on dd's shoulder. The scars are minute though and the ones that were not poed left a scar too. The heory is that popping them causes a bit of bleeding that raises the body's own antibody level response.
In your case I would ask for a referral to a dermatologist because there is treatment out there for severe csaes.

stinky · 02/01/2004 13:50

DS had this in Oct/Nov. Took him to GP when it started spreading from arm to chest and leg. GP said don't pop them as can be painful, likewise removal with acid which needs to be done by doctor and can be painful and may not work anyway. Was advised to cover with Hypafix medical dressing strip (available on prescription) to stop it spreading and change dressing daily. Has all disappeared now with no pain or intervention.

Original poster
PamT · 02/01/2004 20:52

I've got some echinacea today - the herbalist had never heard of molluscum but offered thuja (?) to paint on the spots but with in excess of 60 spots it would have been an endless task. So we'll give that a go and see what happens.

OP posts:
Candie · 04/01/2004 22:43

My ds1 and ds 2 both suffered from molluscum . Ds1 got his 1st, he started with a few on his leg. I took him to our GP who explained what they were and said just to leave them. They spread so much though so evenually we went private. We were given iodine to paint on him, which took ages. Ds2 then got the spots just as badly so we done the same to him. they did take a while to shift but now you would never know they had had them.

codswallop · 06/01/2004 22:30

her it is.

clairemagnolia · 09/01/2004 22:44

My son Owen was diagnosed with molluscum at 12 mnoths. The first ones appeared at around 5 or 6 months on his back and rapidly spread to his chest, arms and face. After thinking there was nothing I could do I decided to consult a homeopath in July 2003. By November they had all gone and you would never know they had ever been there unless you look very closely - and he had about 50 on his face alone! The homeopath prescribed thuja and a remedy based on the DTP vaccine, which has been linked to this condition. All remedies were taken by mouth and Owen actually looked forward to his "medicine"! I was fortunate in that I saw a student so the cost was much reduced, although all her work was supervised by a qualified homeopath. PamT, if you live in London I went to the Healthy Living Centre at Highbury Corner. I think a similar clinic runs in Wanstead. By the way, my GP was still very sceptical when I told her the above - she reckoned they would have gone away on their own. Maybe, but I believe it was money well spent as the facial ones were quite distressing to us as parents, having to deal with comments from friends and strangers alike...

coddycodcod · 18/05/2004 22:22

P\m what happened woth yours?

coddycodcod · 18/05/2004 22:22

pam

ds has too many to cover with plasters and they are all over his bum

soyabean · 18/05/2004 22:29

My three have each had it at separate times (ie it did not seem to spread by towels etc which we do all share)The GP said they would go away by themselves within 6-12 months and they did. Only real problem was with dd who scratched hers a lot and got excema (which she had never had before) but that has cleared too. Luckily none had it on their faces as I think I would have found that harder to cope with and would have felt the need to do something about it.

roisin · 18/05/2004 23:19

How long has he had it Coddy? DS1's took about 5 months to come and stay and eventually go. Looked disgusting, absolutely gross and I hated it, but it didn't seem to bother him at the time.

Bettybloo · 18/05/2004 23:41

My dd had loads on her bum/upper thighs for so long that we eventually took her to a specialist after the gp said ignore them and they'll go away. The specialist said the same thing and eventually did go - but they seemed to clear up astonishingly fast once the summer came and she started swimming in the sea. Probably just a total coincidence - but I've always had the feeling that the sea water had something to do with it. So maybe try a bit of sea salt in the bath? Sounds daft, but presumably cant hurt.

princesspeahead · 18/05/2004 23:58

just leave them. it is true - there is nothing you can do! my dd had them for 8 months, and they disappeared literally overnight. my ds2 has them now. when i took my ds3 to john harper (paediatric dermatologist at great ormond street) a couple of weeks ago for his ezcema, I mentioned that he was likely to get them too... he said the patients he most dreaded were those with molluscum because they really couldn't believe that there was nothing that could be done and that they would disappear by themselves. If it is any consolation he said the vast majority of them cleared up in about 10 months, they very rarely lasted for longer than a year.

so there you go, from the horse's mouth....

Honeypie · 19/05/2004 00:26

Ds2 and dd1 both had them all over their bodies, it looked horrible and some of them got quite nasty but we were told there was nothing to be done. Even got a hospital referrel - same thing. Eventually went after about 18 months. Ds1 didn't get them at all and ds4 had about 4 in total! They do have scars but you can only see them if you look very hard.

Bugsy2 · 19/05/2004 17:57

DS had these, I used to wait until they were very "ripe" looking and then squeeze. Usually worked best after a nice warm bath. Also used to slather area in Aloe Vera gel and any really dodgy looking ones in a diluted solution of Lavender Essential oil. Once I started on the AV gel and Lavender they did seem to stop spreading.

binkie · 19/05/2004 18:15

I put the sellotape idea on the other thread (here ) and don't want to miss chance of other people's input. What d'you think?

I know Cod's seen it already.

bingers · 24/05/2004 16:35

My son was diagnosed with Mollusum and I was told to put Sudafed cream on them if they became uncomfortable, but all that did was spread them more rapidly. So I tried a powder containing Zinc Oxide and Magnesium Stearate amongst other things and this worked liked a miracle. It seemed to dry the spots up and inhibit spreading. I always rubbed off the white tops of the spots with a clean towel after bathing and always put on clean pants/pyjamas daily. Initially I put the powder on morning, noon and night, then gradually only morning and night. I was told it could last 18 months and spread to his face, but with this treatment it was gone in 3 months. I got this powder from a Pharmacist in Cyprus and I don't know whether its available in the UK. Its name is Vitamin Dermina Powder. However, there should be other powders available here with relevent contents.

Becca32 · 25/08/2004 14:17

My ds has had two spots on his inner thigh and one on his back for almost a year. The DR has diagnosed molluscum and said they will disappear but... they've now spread. Not in clusters either, one on his arm, three on jawline, two on chin etc. The original ones are now red and inflamed so I've been applying antiseptic spray, to prevent touching and spreading. With the older ones, the surrounding skin seems dry & wrinkly so I've been applying cream with a cotton bud. I'm worried that when he starts school next week that it may spread more or he'll be sent home. Any ideas as to what can actually work to remove these yucky things? He's also complaining that they are becoming itchy so I'm having to tie his hands behind his back to stop him scratching (joking but you know what I mean!)

suedonim · 25/08/2004 15:24

That all sounds typical of molluscum, Becca. There isn't much you can do except wait it out, really. When they get inflamed that seems to be a precursor to them disappearing altogether. I've never heard of schools excluding children for it, it's the same sort of thing as warts. Hth

Twiglett · 25/08/2004 16:22

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Twiglett · 25/08/2004 16:25

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