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Original poster

molluscum contagiosum...anyone heard of it?

26 replies

foxtrot · 21/09/2006 13:36

It's just that my DSs have had it for a few months and i got called to collect DS2 from pre-school yesterday as the staff thought he might have chicken pox. I didn't argue, took him home and said i'd monitor it, although he's had chicken pox. Anyway today i took him in and said it was just a fresh crop of molluscum spots. The teacher said she'd never heard of it -i was suprised she hadn't come across it before, as the doctor said it was fairly common complaint in the under-fives.

OP posts:
Blandmum · 21/09/2006 13:40

Very common, there is lots of info on it, if you search the archives.

It is cause by a similar virus to the one that causes chicken pox.

It can take many months to go, it is most often caught in swimming pools etc

You are not expected to keep children off school or other activities.

If you leave it alone, it will eventualy go, but it can take some time.

Once they start to burst yellow ceasy crud comes out of them, they bleed like crazy and then they all tend to go.

Some poeple swear by various creams.

HTH!

belgo · 21/09/2006 13:55

My dd had this, and the spots went away without any problems, no bleeding, no itching, it wasn't anything to worry wbout, just didnt' look that nice. She still went to creche.

ScummyMummy · 21/09/2006 13:59

Bursting molluscums are truly, truly vile! Shudder. Am so glad my son's have finally gone- every time one went there was a hideous cream cheese and blood fest.

LIZS · 21/09/2006 14:00

ds had it but hadn't heard of it until then . Took a good 3/4 months to go from when we'd become aware of it. Went when he had chickenpox. No exclusions from nursery or swimming etc in the meantime.

belgo · 21/09/2006 14:01

didn't know they could burst, looks like my dd had a lucky escape.

codwiggle · 21/09/2006 14:01

lol

Gobbledigook · 21/09/2006 14:02

I've just discovered ds1 has them - just about 4 or 5 on his chest. You can barely see them tbh but they are deffo molluscum. Another mum was talking about her son's 'spots' and we compared them - they were exactly the same. She had hers diagnosed last week by the GP. Was telling another mum and she said 'oh yes, ds has those' - so it's incredibly common but there's not much you can do about them. Just ignore them and they should go.

codwiggle · 21/09/2006 14:02

eeeeeeerggh
pox pox

Original poster
foxtrot · 21/09/2006 16:35

thanks everyone, especially for the gory descriptions . Conclusion: it is common and therefore it is a bit odd that the pre-school had never heard of it then. DS was accepted back at preschool but i was asked to provide a description of molluscum for their records.

OP posts:
dinny · 21/09/2006 16:41

ds has got them atm and they are so gross - they are spreading down to his willy too! hope they go soon!

pointydog · 21/09/2006 17:02

Lots of teachers just haven't come across it, even though it's reasonably common. So I wouldn't be too surprised. Now they know.

Twiglett · 21/09/2006 17:07

it seems to be a generational thing though .. no-one of an older generation seems to have heard of them although they supposedly are rife amongst pre-schoolers and 50% of kids get them at some stage

most commonly caught through swimming pools

they can last up to a year / 18 months

they go red about 2 weeks before they disappear for good

thuja is supposed to help

as is Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream (don't ask me why)

DS only ever had 1 on his back and it just disappeared on its own

cat64 · 21/09/2006 17:19

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belgo · 21/09/2006 17:20

I think the reason why older generations haven't heard of it is because it's a harmless rash, so wouldn't have been diagnosed very often. Now, with the help of the internet, we are far more likely to know what's wrong and make diagnoses more often. My mum says that as children we had rashes, but just didn't know what they were called.

Saturn74 · 21/09/2006 17:23

DS1 caught this from his cousin. Friend of DH is a consultant dermatologist. He advised DS to scratch them, as then the immune system kicks in more quickly to heal the area. They lasted ages though, as DS couldn't bring himself to do it - although his brother tried to help!

belgo · 21/09/2006 17:25

That's strange advice to scratch them, wouldn't it cause more problems - bleeding, pain, infection?

Saturn74 · 21/09/2006 17:34

According to the dermatologist, as long as your hands are clean, scratching the spots would help the immune system to kick in. He said the body doesn't really notice the molluscum as they just sit on the skin, so this 'alerts' it. He also suggested to use an orange stick to break the skin of the molluscum if DS didn't want to scratch. DS was too squeamish to do either though, and they were on his back where no-one could really see.

belgo · 21/09/2006 17:38

That's interesting to know.

pointydog · 21/09/2006 17:41

Yeah, my gp said that but to then dab with surgical spirit as you don't want to spread the virus about. He also said it is too painful to do this with children. Dh burst a couple of dd's when they were about to pop and it was very painful for her.

wheresthehamster · 21/09/2006 18:50

Don't let them take hold!
Dd3 had them at 18mths on her arm and I just ignored them. A year later they had spread all over her body and just wouldn't go away. The doctor said that when they burst the pus etc. start new ones so he suggested sticking a pin in them and wiping up the blood and goo immediately to contain the infection.
This worked so I covered all the largest ones in plasters and she was free of them within the month never to return.
She's now 8 but still has the telltale pinprick scars on her chest.

smoggie · 21/09/2006 19:13

I was just about to do a google for this but decided to check out MN first. DS1 has a single solitary one on the inside of his elbow for about 3 months, then all of a sudden it burst and they spread like wildfire over his arm, tummy, back and now they're slowly progresing down his leg. Just been to the docs today to confirm the diagnosis and ask what/if anything we could do. Her advice was just to leave them. They look really red and angry but don't seem to be causing too many probs. Ds's eczema is flaring up around the elbow ones. We have to put diprobase all over ds every night to keep his eczema at bay and I think this is contributing to the spread but the GP said to carry on with this as a potential flare up of his eczema would cause more discomfort than additional spots would.
Looks absolutely awful tbh. I'll have to mention it to the teacher tomorrow.
Interesting about the swimming pool connection. Ds is just at the end of his first 10 week swimming course!

pointydog · 21/09/2006 19:56

Another downside of bursting is that it can cause scarring.

pointydog · 21/09/2006 19:57

And more common in eczema kids.

dinny · 21/09/2006 20:20

yes, my GP just said to leave them. dd had them for about 18 months and then they just went.

think I will add some tea tree to ds's bath water...

ps can siblings re-infect each other (ie. once you've had it, are you immune?)

cat64 · 21/09/2006 20:26

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