taffnus Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My dd6 has viral skin bumps called Molluscum. She's had them in increasing number for more than a year. I was just reading that boosting the immune system can help. What are some good ways to do that? Has anyone else had this in the home? It's a pain. Her little legs look terrible and they've now moved into the more sensitive areas - just in time for the heat of spring and summer. She's at the limit time wise but I don't see them stopping. :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I would try probiotics. They need to be a brand that is refridgerated in order to be strong enough. We buy ours at Vitamin Shoppe. I would also try juicing. It is the only thing I've found that boosts my immune system enough to avoid having to take daily sinus/allergy medicine. I drink mostly green juice but I would google and do some research on what options are best and how to start out slowly with children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriciaS Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My 6 year old had these on her torso all last summer. Her doctor gave me a cream that causes an immune response to the area ($$)...it seemed like it would have worked eventually, but it made the area so irritated and red. Plus, it was very sensitive to sunburn and she was so self-conscious about it with a two-piece bathing suit on that I stopped it. They eventually scabbed over and peeled off (sorry so gross!) after 6-8 months of having them. They are super contagious, so of course my 3 year old has them on her legs now! They can be spread across the body by scratching (I believe it's a localized thing, like warts), so your daughter could be spreading them more. I heard that tea tree oil can help, but it also can "burn" the area. If you want to try, do it now before sunburn season begins. If she is around other kids with the areas exposed, you could keep a band-aid on them to avoid her scratching herself and then spreading it to other kids. HTH! Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 My 6 year old had these on her torso all last summer. Her doctor gave me a cream that causes an immune response to the areaHTH! Good luck with it! thanks. We have an ointment too and it does irritate and get rid of them but more come. She now has one in a very sensitive spot and I am afraid only prayer will keep it from spreading because of the rubbing. We were thinking of getting her gymnastics lessons for her birthday but no one would want to touch the poor little thing, nor should they really. So, I'm really ready for them to go. Older dd has a couple but she's been very good not to scratch. I do like the juicing idea to boost the immune system. I've considered buying one before. Maybe this will push me over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in TX Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 So sorry for your dd! For the immune system, I suggest probiotics (Culturelle is a studied brand that doesn't require refrigeration) and vitamin D. Lots of fresh air, exercise, and plenty of sleep. For the molluscum: we've had amazing results with cider vinegar. Our pediatrician told us to try it and it eliminated the bumps (ds had one on his chin and I had one on the back of my knee) in less than a week. With only one bump, we kept a vinegar-soaked cottonball on it overnight held in place with a band-aid and nothing during the day. Since you have wider areas and more bumps, you might try painting the affected areas with the cider vinegar a couple of times a day and at bedtime? It can be irritating, so you would have to experiment with how/when to apply it. But it gave us stunning results. I hope you find something effective! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) Our dermatologist gave us an Rx that we took to the compounding pharmacy, it was a mild acid solution. The medicine is *supposed* to cause the bump to become irritated, burst and scab over, do not be alarmed by that happening. The treatment stimulates the body's own immune response, helping it to fight the virus and reduce future breakouts. It was time consuming to treat those bumps, but we were diligent to apply the stuff to every bump, every night. The spots that went without treatment for a while (ie, the first ones) left small pitted scars in the skin. The places we treated have no scars at all, even though they could look pretty bad in the course of treatment. Everything I've read on molluscum contagioso says that it will eventually run its course, with or without treatment, though it may last 6 to 18 months. We found that having the active bumps prohibited us from swimming at the health club pool. It also restricted my child's clothing options (ie, long sleeves and long pants, even in warmer months) to prevent the virus from spreading to others and to help prevent infection of the active bump sites. Working to get the condition under control was, imo, a good thing. For the last few months (ran about 10 months here) most of the things we were treating were barely raised spots with just enough fluid in them to discern that they were indeed molluscum; also, as we treated and after about a month got things under control, she never had more than 3-4 active bumps at a time. I know that people make different choices in how to handle this, but I am glad we chose to be aggressive and diligent. She never had anything spread to a private area or face, for which we are very thankful. People recommended many things to us, but I truly believe it was the diligent application of the prescription that did the trick. ETA - Sorry if my original reply missed the mark - you wanted an immune system boost. I second the Culturelle probiotics, they make a formula especially for kids which we stir into a little shot of juice each morning. I also gave fish oil which seems to help the skin heal faster, and Vitamin D. Be careful with the application of the Rx cream - it only takes a tiny bit, and the excess should be wiped off in the morning - that's what our doc told us. It should irritate the bump and make it blister, but if it is turning into a huge red burned-looking blistered patch, you may be applying too much to each bump (we discovered this the hard way). We applied it with a toothpick, only on each actual tiny bump top. Edited March 18, 2012 by AuntieM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 thanks. We have an ointment too and it does irritate and get rid of them but more come. She now has one in a very sensitive spot and I am afraid only prayer will keep it from spreading because of the rubbing. We were thinking of getting her gymnastics lessons for her birthday but no one would want to touch the poor little thing, nor should they really. So, I'm really ready for them to go. Older dd has a couple but she's been very good not to scratch. I do like the juicing idea to boost the immune system. I've considered buying one before. Maybe this will push me over. Have you watched the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead? If you want to be pushed over the edge to purchase a juicer watching that should do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Our dermatologist gave us an Rx that we took to the compounding pharmacy, it was a mild acid solution. The medicine is *supposed* to cause the bump to become irritated, burst and scab over, do not be alarmed by that happening. The treatment stimulates the body's own immune response, helping it to fight the virus and reduce future breakouts. We have an ointment that works very well on the bumps it just has been ineffective thus far in stopping new ones from coming. I'm feeling renewed in my effort though in treating them. Thank you. She has many more than 3 bumps though and now they've spread to areas I'm unable to treat so that's why I'm wanting to see if there's another way to fight as well (immune system). For some reason her body is not getting rid of them and we're reaching the maximum course of time for the virus. Although I realize that differs from person to person. Have you watched the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead? If you want to be pushed over the edge to purchase a juicer watching that should do the trick. Yes, we have watched it. :001_smile: I was up last night looking at all of the options. I really don't like the thought of losing so much of the fruit (pulp). I think we'd probably be more fruit juicers with a little spinach or so thrown in. I'm wondering if we couldn't do that with a good mixer instead? I know carrots would then be out of the question. Hmmm...not sure what to do about the juicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I watched some YouTube videos where the guy from the movie answered questions and he said juicing allows the nutrients to be absorbed more quickly because smoothies are treated by your body like food so it tries to digest them. Also, I think you need lots of green stuff for the immune boost. Most juicing books come with recipes for using the pulp or you can use it in a garden if you have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 6 weeks of Tagamet works sometimes (I think they have no idea why). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 One way we stopped the spread was getting dd her own set of towels and wash cloths. I got white towels so I could bleach them. I washed/bleached them after every single use. I instructed her to dry the molluscum infected areas last and just pat these areas dry instead of rubbing. I also had her start using a shower gel instead of bar soap (so nothing could spread to her sister) and I made her take showers rather than baths. We were desperate; the bumps were all over her "sensitive areas". Doing this, plus the tea tree oil, plus probiotics finally conquered the problem. We tried the tea tree oil and probiotics for months alone, and the bumps would fade but new ones would appear. It wasn't until I instituted the extra hygiene measures that new bumps stopped appearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 One way we stopped the spread was getting dd her own set of towels and wash cloths. I got white towels so I could bleach them. I washed/bleached them after every single use. I instructed her to dry the molluscum infected areas last and just pat these areas dry instead of rubbing. I also had her start using a shower gel instead of bar soap (so nothing could spread to her sister) and I made her take showers rather than baths. We were desperate; the bumps were all over her "sensitive areas". Doing this, plus the tea tree oil, plus probiotics finally conquered the problem. We tried the tea tree oil and probiotics for months alone, and the bumps would fade but new ones would appear. It wasn't until I instituted the extra hygiene measures that new bumps stopped appearing. Oh yeah, I forgot about this! We stopped doing baths and switched to showers, and I sprayed the shower with a bleach/water solution after each use, never shared or reused towels and washcloths. The bump spreading slowed way down after we went to showers, and no one else caught it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 We had good luck with Thuja, a homeopathic remedy for warts. I hope your dd feels better soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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