M.B. asks from Shoshone, ID on May 01, 2008
Contagiouso Moluscum (Warts on a Child)
I have a 7 yr old who has warts all over her body. The doctor called them contagiouso moluscum. Has anyone had any experience with these? Some areas there is a rash around them. Like under her armpit. The doctor gave her cream and it seems to be helping. He says not to "pop" them because they will go away on their own and they are a virus that spreads. However, we have been dealing with them for 3 months. Up until recently, I have counted over 50 on her body. I had 2 friends tell me that their children had the same things and what they did was "pop" them and get the white core out and they went away. So, As a mom who listens to other moms, I popped only a couple of them. Most of the ones I popped went away, no signs of them. She has 2 that are infected (I think) they were the 2 that didn't bleed when I popped them. Should I have made them bleed? As a side note, I did make sure I was very sterile using rubbing alchohol to clean them up, and then followed up with an antibacterial cream. Last night the one that was big and red and infected, I slightly pushed around it and TONS of greenish puss came out of it. This morning it looks a lot better and not so red and inflamed. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any help. M. B
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M.L. answers from Denver on May 02, 2008
M.-
I actually had this in a small contained area about 9 years ago. The doctor gave me a hypodermic needle to pop them and then put that antibacterial alcohol (the orangish-brown stuff- I'm drawing a blank on the name) on them. They went away shortly after that.
Good luck.
M.J. answers from Pueblo on May 02, 2008
When I was a tween, I had those on my knees and other places as well. My Doc also told me to pop them and get the small white ball out. It is good you are being very sterile, that will reduce spreading. I would either get a second opinion, or just pop them since that seems to be working better than letting them be. Good luck
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H.G. answers from Denver on May 02, 2008
Hi M.!
I would recommend giving her probiotics. Balancing out the intestinal flora will help the body naturally take care of those viruses. I can speak from experience, I had about 15 little warts disappear after taking Shaklee's Optiflora probiotics, and they have not returned since. If you are interested in learning more or trying Shaklee's optiflora, either send me a message or go to www.shaklee.net/startahealthylife
Good Luck!
H. Gaitten
J.L. answers from Pocatello on May 02, 2008
Warts are a funny thing and oddly enough they are VERY susceptible to suggestions. If your daughter believes they will go away, they will go away. If she thinks they will stay, they will stay. My daughter started having a wart problem and we tried all sorts of things to get rid of them. One day she was running through the house and one of the ones on her foot caught on something and ripped off. It freaked her out and we kept saying, "you showed that wart; I bet it's too scared to come back again. I wouln't be surprised if the other ones get scared away too." Within a few days ALL of the wars were gone and they have never come back. That was two years ago.
Also, pediatricians and general practitioners are terrible with warts and skin conditions. You really should take your daughter to a good dermatologist.
M.J. answers from Pueblo on May 02, 2008
When I was a tween, I had those on my knees and other places as well. My Doc also told me to pop them and get the small white ball out. It is good you are being very sterile, that will reduce spreading. I would either get a second opinion, or just pop them since that seems to be working better than letting them be. Good luck
J.P. answers from Salt Lake City on May 02, 2008
I'm not sure if they are related to regular warts, but you can always try the cure I used. I had a wart for aboaut 13 years. I did everything I could to get rid of it, but it wouldn't go away. My son told me to put duct tape on it, which I though was crazy, but after about a week it was gone.
H.S. answers from Salt Lake City on May 02, 2008
I have 6 children and unfortunately 4 of them have had this. My oldest son never got any treatment (his pediatrician said to just wait and let them go away on their own) and it took about 2 years for them to finally be gone. My two daughters got them this fall and I took them to the dermatologist and she froze them. This completely got rid of them for my oldest daughter (they had all gone away after a few weeks). But my younger daughter seems to be more resistant. We have tried freezing them two times and it gets rid of some of them but not all of them. I have decided to just let her body get rid of them since the freezing is painful and not working for her. My other son got only a few (6?) and they went away really quickly--2 weeks all on their own. I wouldn't suggest popping them. They will go away on their own but it can take awhile and they are contagious so don't let her bathe with siblings or share towels. Hope that helps! :) Also the dermatologist told us they spread in dry skin areas so to use lots of lotion on those areas to stop the spreading. Good Luck!
D.N. answers from Grand Junction on May 02, 2008
You may have been told this already... but don't pop them that is where the virus is and they can spread easier that way. They can even spread to you. I have not had a chance to read the other posts yet, but look on line under moluscum... you will find a bunch of info. I had to deal with this with my husband. Yep... he works in the gas fields and sometimes they share clothes, towels... ewww I know! Well he caught moluscum from another one of the guys... the only thing I got to work since it is a virus is NEEM OIL! Oh it smells really bad! It did clear the infection fairly quickly though. I got it at the health food store, you may have to be careful when putting it on a child, so I would look into that. Good luck it can be tough to get rid of. As far as the infection from squeezing the warts... your child may need antibiotics. Keep an eye on it and take her back to the doc if you have any doubts! =)
J.A. answers from Grand Junction on May 02, 2008
Hi M.,
I am not sure about those kinds if warts, but planter warts and regular warts I am. And if they say it is a virus, then i know what helps that. I have used in the past oregano essential oil. It works beautifully. It is a very strong antibiotic , and depending on if the wart has already been opened it will burn so you need to dilute it with alittle bit of olive oil. You also need to get a very high quality of oil. It will dry up and flake off. You just keep putting it on until it is gone
Hope this helps
J..
S.M. answers from Salt Lake City on May 02, 2008
Hi M.,
My son had a several worts, they are contagious however we went to a dermatologist who gave us a cream, Aldara, to put on every other night that destroyed the wart, no puss, no infection just gone. They said not to use a band aid with the cream as it soaks into the band aid so I used a band aid and put the plastic piece you pull off the sticky part under the pad so the medicine didn't soak into the band aid and stayed on the skin. Within about 2 weeks they were all gone. He occasionally gets one somewhere else, on a knee or elbow and we just use the cream again. The cream is expensive but insurance covered almost all of it and you use a tiny bit each time. Good luck!
SarahMM
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