And Recommendations for Treating Molluscum Contagiosum

We had a similar situation with our son, who was 4 at the time. He had some on his legs and the friction of shorts/pants irritated them until they started becoming worse. We tried the ZymaDerm and had wonderful results. It was a much better alternative than the dermatologist- no pain, no scarring and much less expensive. It cleared up totally and has not ever come back for over 2 years now. I would definitely try it before going to the dermatologist.

Our pediatrician was skeptical, since it was from the internet and not an "official" medication, but it turned out great for us.

Two of my three kids have had it... I too looked at the websites and it scared me! Luckily Maddie had maybe 4 or 5 'bumps' on her arm, and Ben had a cluster of 3 on his belly and that was all the more they got. It took them both about 6 months for their bodies to figure out how to fight the virus and get rid of them. They looked the nastiest at the very end, for the most part they were little white wart like bumps, then at the end they got fiery red and irritated looking. Ben's JUST went away this month!

Our doctor said it was a self limiting virus and you could treat it, but it probably wouldn't help them go away any quicker. I think one thing he mentioned was digging out the 'core' - he said it does help sometimes, but is painful. We opted to leave it alone since it was so mild.

A friend who is into homeopathic approaches suggested increasing the kid's l-lysine (sp??) because it boosts their immune system and would help them fight the virus (didn't really do this!) and tea tree oil. The tea tree oil smells like eucalyptus which isn't all that pleasant, but it is antiseptic and it seemed to dry the bumps out, especially at the end. If nothing else they won't get infected. We did use the oil towards the end when they looked nasty. Not sure what would have happened had we started with it sooner.

Hi B.,
Molluscum contagiosum is an annoying condition, but thankfully doesn't hurt (just a little itchy) or cause any permanent damage(except sometimes it can leave a little bit of scarring). My twin boys had it a couple of years ago and we attributed it to sitting on wet chairs at the community pool. It is highly contagious, but for some reason their little brother never got it. Our bout with it took over a year to completely go away and there were times when the patches were more severe, then they would dry up and nothing would show for a month or two. Very strange to deal with and stay on top of and we never really found anything that worked 100%. I saw some different remedies online too, but was skeptical and afraid it might cause more harm than good. One natural remedy I had read about was dabbing on apple cider vinegar. We used this more than the cream the doctor perscribed and it did seem to dry them a little faster. We also would cover them with a band-aid when they would pus and break open (this is when they are most contagious).
Sorry I don't have any advice for you other than the few things we tried. Looking at the pictures online were too frightening for me and I never showed the boys. On the bright side, they don't last forever and eventually they do go away on their own.
Good luck and if you find a "cure" let me know:)
Susie

All three of my kids have had some type of wart. A few have been froze off, my daughter had to have one scraped that was on her foot and others have just been left alone. My son was in the dr just this week with a bump on his back and the dr said keep him from scrathcing (which will be easy where it is at) and leave it alone. It may spread if messed with but will go away on its own (could take a cople of months or a couple of years) If it gets worse then they will freeze it off. Walgreens.com has some info on it with treatments on it. Good luck but I really wouldn't stress over it to much if it stays small and doesn't seem to be bothering them. Your Dr can freeze off in the office or you can buy a freezing kit at walmart and do it your self. Just keep your daughter from scratching it will spread it scratched open and is contagious. Good luck but I really wouldn't stress to much over it.

My son has it and has only had a few bumps for a little over a year now. We haven't done anything for it (since our doctor also said it would go away on its own). They don't bother him, so I'm not too worried about it. He has had a few that have come and gone, but other than that...I would wait and see if it just goes away without getting worse.

My son has that also. We went to the doc for it and he gave us antibiotic ointment for it, because a couple of them were infected from my son scratching at them. Once we used that for a few days they looked much better (less irritated) and we never really used the cream they gave us to use after that. They are starting to go away on their own. Overall I wouldn't worry about it, just try to keep her from scratching.