Anyone familiar with Molluscum Contagiosum?

[Samiam]

My DS7 has these little wart like bumps on his back. It started with one, about a year ago, and then a few more came, and today, I saw a few more little farther down his back, so it's probably like 10 all together. They are kind of like skin tags, kind of wart-ish looking. They do not seem to bother him at all.

 

I looked up online and from what I can tell, I think it might be this: Molluscum Contagiosum....which sounds really gross...but apparently it is fairly common among children. Some sites say they will go away on their own, but meanwhile his seem to be spreading, and they can be contagious, so I don't want my other DS getting them as well.

 

We go to the Ped on Wednesday for annual checkups, so I will talk to her about it then..thankfully our Ped is very homepathic oriented, so I am hoping she will suggest some more natural remedies versus burning/freezing methods.

 

I have seen some people mention Apple Cider Vinegar, and others mentioned "silver" band-aids...I am assuming like colloidal silver??

 

Just wondering if anyone here has experience this and what they did to cure them?

thanks

[Leanna Tomlinson]

My niece and nephew had them (2 different families - 2 different states). Both children have several siblings and none of the sibs got them. Both moms stopped letting kids use towels more than once. My sister tried several natural remedies, including Apple Cider Vinegar for her son, but nothing got rid of them. The bumps just disappeared after about 2 years. The only other thing she did was purchase a swim shirt for him so he would not be self conscious at the pool.

 

My niece still has them, but her mom isn't doing anything since she knows our nephew's just went away on their own.

 

I know it looks bad, but they do usually go away.

Blessings,

Leanna

[Lisa in Jax]

We used monolaurin/Lauricidin, a coconut-based product. It seemed to help them go away, but it still took several weeks. If I had to deal with them again, I'd add more antiviral supplements along with the monolaurin/lauricidin.

 

They're easily spread, so be careful with shared bedding/towels, etc.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

[Denise in Florida]

Both of my girls have had them in the past. They are hard to deal with topically and really are contagious.

 

My dd's pediatrician recommended a homeopathic treatment that cleared them up quickly. This was years ago, but if I remember correctly the product name was thuja. The product did not state it was for molluscum, I think it said it was for warts.

[Blessedwithboys]

I have a son that had this last summer. He had about 25 bumps on his right side. We went to a dermatologist because he also had a wart on his foot that needed to be treated. The doctor was able to "paint" some medicine on (that is literally how she referred to it) and cover the area with bandages. My son was instructed to keep the bandages on for 4 hours before removing them and bathing. The treatment was not painful, and the bumps were gone in about a week - along with the wart. :tongue_smilie:

[2cents]

A long time ago my son had Molluscum Contagiosum and we were advised to use comfrey ointment. It is a herbal remedy. We had success with it but it is also possible that the illness just naturally disappeared after it ran its course. I do think the ointment seemed to help. We had to find it at a herbal shop.

[stephanie]

We used Zyma-derm. We got it online, and it's homeopathic. That's stuff like gold for us. My baby girl had a terrible case that went down her legs and seemed like it was impossible to cure. But diligent treatment cleared it right up. Two of my 4 children have had it, and we both used it on them successfully.

[Melissa in Australia]

my ds6 got them 1 year ago. he had about 60 bumps. the doctor advised to do nothing, as most treatments cause scaring, and if left alone, they will disappear. he said it could take up to 2 years. he has about 6 left. I introduced a policy of no shared baths, and his towel gets washed every day. no one else has caught them.

[Samiam]

Thanks ladies..I will google all of these ideas, and have it all to bring with me to discuss with our Ped. Also good to hear that others have experienced this (although that sounds weird to hear) just to know that it is "normal" as I have been reading online. We did stop using the same towel with DS3, as we used to dry them both off with one one towel after bathtime.

thanks!

[zimom]

my daughter had a pretty severe case of molluscum... tried several different treatments including prescription and finally what worked was putting apple cider vineger on a cotton ball and covering with a bandaid for 24 hours. That worked on most spots. Just a few needed a second treatment a few days later.

 

My understanding is that it can come back months later but so far she has not had a recurrance and it has been over two years.

[rookie]

My ds had a terrible case. It started with one. We were advised to just ride it out. A few weeks later his legs/buttocks were COVERED in them. We went the prescription route and it cleared up with no scarring. My recommendation is DO something...do not hope it will go away.

[Samiam]

So we had our Ped appointment, and as suspected, it was the Molluscum thing. Our Dr. did recommend some of the things you all mentioned, and also offered to freeze them. I am going to try these natural options and give that a few months, and then see if we need the freeze option.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin had them when he was about eight. I took him to the doctor and he said to do nothing; they went away of their own accord over the following two years. Hobbes has a few but I'm ignoring them.

 

Laura

[Perry]

Apple Cider Vinegar is working great here!

 

My dd has had molluscum on her legs for several years. We were waiting it out, but last fall one of the bumps got infected, and we decided to start treating. Tea Tree Oil was somewhat effective, but it gave her a raging dermatitis that had to be treated with steroids. Athough it got rid of some of the bumps, others popped up in other places. We also tried freezing them off, but they came back.

 

Last week we started ACV baths, and now they are almost completely gone for the first time in years! I am really amazed at how quickly this worked.

 

I added 1 cup of Epsom salts to the bath (softens up the skin and opens the pores), then added about 2 cups of ACV. Afterwards, when the skin is really soft, you can gently scrape the top so the central core can come out. We've done this every day, and after just 3 days they were noticeably better. Today they're almost completely gone. :party:

 

Although now I'm really irritated that we didn't do this years ago.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Perry

[cdrumm4448]

My nephew had them and oil of oregano got rid of them. Use a q-tip and put it on just the bump. Oil of oregano can cause inflammation of the surrounding skin, so that's why it's important to keep it just on the bump.