Have you had a child with Molluscum Contagiosm - did anything work to clear them? How long there?

[TuTu]

DS2 has had molluscum contagiosm for about 3 months now, and it has got itchy for the last couple of weeks and since he has been scratching at them it has spread rapidly. His tummy, legs, groin, elbows, and under his neck are covered. Went to the GP a week ago and he has given him anti-histamine and calamine cream to try to reduce the itch. Have also been bathing him with a little baking powder added to try and reduce itch for the wee mite. As it is spreading so fast, I am worried sick that it will appear on his face.

Have you had any successful experience of remedies to treat this. Or if it went away by itself how long did it take.

DS is only 2, so me telling him not to sratch not really working as he doesnt understand how much damage it is causing. Also worried that DS1 will catch it off him, as until visited GP had no idea is was something that could spread to another person.

I had a friend that said she covered each one with a plaster as it got ready to shed, to stop it spreading as it shed...but I have no direct experience.

My dd had this and i told her not to scratch - until a mnetter told me that's exactly what you should do, it corrupts the spots and they dry up. It worked. she had them for about 6 months, then apres scratching they cleared up within a month!

The doc said to leave them they would go within 2 years!!!

Thanks for the replies. Just feel so sorry for the wee darling and wish i could do something for him. GP just said best to do nothing.

There is no official medical "cure" for molluscum, and the advice is generally to sit it out (and not to share towels and so on). But it is so contagious and unsightly. I found comfrey cream very helpful, it seems to have more effect that anything else in killing the warts, and the earlier you start the better. It used to be available in Boots, over the counter. But there is some contraindication about liver damage and not to use on open skin, if I remember rightly. But I really do recommend it as it has worked on other children too. BTW I am not expert or doctor.

apparently if you can manage to pop one or two, they start to die away - DD2s GP suggested a "magic" cocktail stick whcih had been dipped into "special fairy water" (boiled water) when she had this around age 2. It did work, just the process wasn't too nice.....

I was at the doctors only on Thursday as my dd has pityriasis rosea (look it up!) I mentioned she had had molluscum last year. The spots had lasted about a year more or less but we did not do anything about it although dd did scratch them towards the end. The GP told me this was good for them as they go when they have suffered "trauma" - a funny thing to say I thought, but he meant if they are rubbed or scratched, so let your ds scratch if he wants. It will help to get rid of them (GP also said nothing else would get rid of them in case you were wondering).

This is really interesting about the scratching being a good thing to do..... this is why I love Mumsnet......I always learn something! Thank you.

I used to try and pop them, all gooey and puss filled there were!
They took AGES to go though, bloody things
Oops someone's been sick here. gotta go!

I have just ordered some stuff online to see if it will help my dd (4) - iodine and thuja - it is homeopathic. If that doesnt help I will consider using a treatment containing silver.

Zymaderm

Colloidal Silver

dd has them and we are basically sitting them out - on their way out now after about a year.

if you do a search there a lots of stories on here of successes.

DD2 had this- took about 10m to go but sils ds also had this and recommendation was to pop the spots as this makes it go away more quickly! Strange about it being so contageous as dd2 was the only one who caught it (sil ds had it 2 years later)

Squeezing them like a spot is v. painful according to my DD6 and it leaves a scar.
We pierced the pus filled ones with a sterilised needle ( well- held in the flame of the gas cooker!)which if you are careful is fairly painless .Make sure you wipe away the pus carefully as I believe thats the contagious bit. They then seemed to clear up fairly fast. DD also scratched at them and as others have said I think that helped.I was also worried they would spread to the face but they didnt. Make sure there's no sharing of baths/towels amongst children.

DS had them for 3 years, homeopathy finally did the trick.

DD aged 6 not 6 children!

BTw, I squeezed a coupld of DS's. WHat I found a bit weird was that once the liquid part of it came out a tiny little cilinder of flesh came out, which was the thing that DS found painful, the thing stayed out for a few days until it dried and fell of. (starting to wonder whether he had moulluscum or other thing )

It left a tiny scar, but the ones that left on their own, also left scars. I remember thinking that we should have squeezed and desinfected the first one rather than let the thing follow its course as he ended up with some growing inside the eyelid and sctraching the eye.

Dont pick or squeeze them they will cause scarring!!

Try aloe vera gel it work for my 11 year old son who had these all over his torso for 18 months he found it really embarassing

One of my DD's had molluscum for several months, all over her torso. I read somewhere that neat tea tree oil was effective and dabbed it on each spot with cotton wool twice a day - within 3 days they had completely disappeared. It was astonishing.

Everyone says it is highly contagious but her twin sister didn't get it, despite obviously being in very close contact.

thanks again for all the replies. Will try and get some tea tree oil and aloe vera gel tomorrow.