molluscum

[blumama]

My 13mth ds2 has molluscum, mostly on face and few on arms. dr says be patient will eventually go but may take 2 yrs and looks horrible.

Anyone found anything that works to get rid of them? Heard about 'molluscum no more' but not sure if works or safe in babies.

my ds had them too - all disappeared by 18 months. Only 1 little scar and I think it was one I picked at!

what age did he start? Where were his? Noticed some near eyes. Bit worried.

Hi,
All 3 of mine had these over a 2 yr. period.I found them so annoying & nightmare to get rid of.GP didn't help much(said same as yours) neither did HV but my ds1 has regular visits to consultant at hospital allergy clinic & one time we happened to mention molluscum to him & he said to try FUCIDIN CREAM 2%(fuscidic acid) only available on prescrip I think & its got to be 2% strength but sorry I can't remember why!Anyway Fucidin took ds1 molluscums away within a week to 10 days.It was fantastic stuff but my ds1 had had them for a year at least by this time.Apparently Fucidin works for some & not for others & a lot seems to depend on how long had molluscs. as virus is strong at first & then 'dies' gradually over time,so it's like virus is too strong at first & cream doesn;t work.
I think I did try that molluscum no more at some point & it didn;t make any difference.
My ds3 has only ever had a small scattering of them & was recently prescribed oilatum plus for his bathwater for his eczema.(Totally unrelated to molluscums)but after using this stuff in bath ,(it seems to have antiseptic properties) I have suddenly noticed his molluscums are drying up & disappearing!(Had tried fucidin on him & it didn;t make any diff.)
One last thing which I apologise if you already know,don't be tempted to squeeze them,they spread like wildfire!
HTH

Thanks, new to this so quite a nightmare! Will try oilatum and ask GP about fucidin. How did you handle nursey etc. Can't hide it! Feels very isolating at moment.

First let me say from one who has recently been there that you have my sypathy. All three of our children had this nasty skin condition and dd1 suffered miserably for exactly 22 months. She does still have scars (about 5 months on now) but many of hers became infected because she scratched them.

i hope that your ds2 recovers as quicly as our ds1 did. They only lasted about 7 monthsfor him.

I should think if Fucidin appeared to work it must have been a coincidence because Molluscum is caused by a virus and Fucidin is an antibiotic (i.e. it is effective against bacteria not viruses). There is a factsheet here .

They are horrible though, aren't they. My ds1 had them for about a year, ds2 for about 6 months. If he has eczema in the same area it's important to keep it under control because they scratch the eczema and this increases the chance that the molluscum become infected (BTW Fucidin would most likely work to clear up the infection if they did become infected). ds1 had a few that got inflamed and painful - I used to put antiseptic cream on them and put a plaster over. This seemed to stop them getting infected.

HTH.

my DS had it & I think it took about 6 mths for them to go - they got worse & worse & then went

now DD has them - shes 2 yrs 4mths and not so bad but spreading....

I just left them and tried to ignore them BUT was matter of fact if anyone asked.

Hi blumama. I posted the same sort of message recently as DD1 and DD2 both have them. DD1 (aged 4) got them first, in January this year. Started as a small red patch under her right armpit area and then became little bumps and then grew to about half the size of those rubbers that you see on the end of pencils. She mostly had them on her chest and arms and in her elbows but also a few on her thighs. Having talked to the GP but not being happy with just leaving these unsightly things once they started getting bigger and really horrid looking, I tried Molloscum-no-more, Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream (think a MNer suggested it) and duct tape but to no effect. About 3 months ago her spots started getting quite red and looked pretty nasty and infected. For DD1 this was the start of the end of the cycle, although I couldn't be sure of it then. They looked nastier and nastier and then they'd burst and the quite a lot of blood came out, along with the infectious inner core (like the contents of a big, hard, whitehead). I made the mistake of putting plasters over these spots to stop all the bloody mess over her bedsheets and clothes but actually that slowed down their demise as they weren't drying out and sort of shrivelling up and going.

Other children did ask about DD1's spots but she was very matter of fact about them and it didn't seem to bother her too much (once she got used to the blood on her clothes). Both my DD's and a lot of their friends had chickenpox at the beginning of the year so to some extent I think they thought of the molluscum as a continuation of this. I told her nursery teachers about them just so that they knew what these horrible things were and made sure that she was pretty much clothed from head to toe so that there could be no direct contact with other children's skin.

At this point DD2 (aged 2.5 years) contracted the virus and now she has them. They are smaller but she has lots more of them. Even though a lot of people say to just leave the virus because it will only clear up and go in its own time, I was so keen NOT to go through the whole revolting bloody cycle with DD2 (although I don't know that hers will necessarily follow the same course) that I contacted a Homeopath (for the first time ever) to see them both because I couldn't stand the things any more. I got given a one off constitutional remedy for each and a course of homeopathic pills specific to each child. Now, almost 2 weeks later, DD1's spots have nearly all gone (it's taken 9 months), they are flat red marks that look a bit like chicken pox scars that need to fade. DD2's are getting bigger and harder and she's still getting more of them so I think the homeopath's going to change her 'prescription' soon. I have absolutely no idea whether the homeopathic pills had anything to do with the demise of DD1's spots (as we call them) as I think they were going anyway but I can't be anything but delighted about the speed with which they are going ... we're looking forward to all those nice little girls clothes for next summer and for me to spend less time soaking all the blood out of her clothes/bed stuff/teddies etc. (Vanish powder = magic stuff). Fingers crossed that DD2's spots will follow a different (and shorter) cycle to DD1's.

Finally, if your child has one/some near his eyes then keep an eye on them and perhaps point them out to your GP again next time you go. On the off-chance that they get as big and bloody as DD1's then you don't want them anywhere near eyes - that might even mean getting those ones surgically removed but I don't have any personal experience of that.

So, that's us. Hope it helps a bit. Sorry it's so long and waffly! Best of luck, hope they don't bother him too much and that go away very soon.

Hi snowstorm, thanks for advice. Have appt. with homeopath today, so will see. Do you remember what your homeopath recommended for your dds? Hope it continues to work for them!

My daughter took part in this trial and her molluscum disappeared shortly after treatment. May be worth talking to your GP about it?

PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS (May 2006)
Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Use of Topical 10% Potassium Hydroxide Solution in the Treatment of Molluscum Contagiosum
Katherine A. Short, M.R.C.P., L. Claire Fuller, F.R.C.P., and Elisabeth M. Higgins, F.R.C.P.

Abstract: Molluscum contagiosum is a common viral infection of the skin that frequently affects children. Lesions take between 6 and 18 months to resolve spontaneously and are a source of great embarrassment to both caretakers and children, often affecting attendance at school and limiting social activity. Treatment options to date have been poorly tolerated by children but recent studies have suggested that potassium hydroxide may be beneficial. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study compared 10% potassium hydroxide with placebo (normal saline). Twenty patients, aged 2 to 12 years, were recruited. Parents applied a solution twice daily to lesional skin until signs of inflammation appeared. Children were examined by the same observer on days 0, 15, 30, 60, and 90. Seventy percent of children receiving topical potassium hydroxide cleared, compared with 20% in the placebo group. Further dosing studies are required to identify whether weaker concentrations of potassium hydroxide are as efficacious, with less irritancy.

Forgot to mention in my thesis below that we'd also tried Thuja tablets but they didn't do anything either.

DD1 was given a course of 'Sulphur 30' tablets by the homeopath we saw. She's apparently going to get her one off 'constitutional' tablet of 'Pulsatilla' once her skin's cleared up a bit. Hers is a success story but goodness knows whether that's the tablets or whether it would have happened anyway.

DD2 had an initial constitutional tablet which was 'Phosphorous 200' and is now on a course of 'LadyFern 30' tablets ( ... is it just me or does that sound like a nickname for female pubic hair??!). I'm not sure that they are doing anything though. If there's no improvement in 8 or so days then the homeopath is going to try something else on her.

Good luck - hope your appointment with the homeopath goes/went well!