20 Month Old with Molluscum Contagiousum

Updated on May 11, 2008
S.P. asks from Clinton, MS
25 answers

My 20 month old has little skin pimple type things that the doctor says is Molluscum. The spots will get larger and pop and then spread like crazy. My son has had these for at least 6 months now. The doctor won't treat them. Does anyone know a possible treatment for a child this age?

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K.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Hello S.!
My name is K. and my hubby and I have 11 year old twin sons. They both have Molluscum. Their doctor, Dr. S. Blake Kelly, MD, is located at 13908 Quailbrook Drive. His office number is ###-###-#### and his cell is ###-###-####. He is an awesome and knowledgeable doctor. He has prescribed the twins an ointment that is used to treat genetal herpes and it has worked tremendously. You might give him a call. Good Luck!!

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K.K.

answers from Huntsville on

My pediatrician recommended Zymaderm which you can order on the internet. I used it on my son and it worked and it doesn't sting. Good luck!

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K.H.

answers from Monroe on

Try UV light. Where ever this is expose it to sunlight. Sunlight is a very good skin healer. I would also suggest consulting with another pediatrician if this doesn't help or dermatologist.

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J.D.

answers from Huntsville on

Hi- yes, it is contagious, and when a child scratches, it spreads them, which is why often they are in a line.

There is an outbreak of this virus at our preschool. Evidently, it's NOT harmful, although unsightly. Several sources I've researched stated that the general doctor's advice is to keep the area covered, but they CAN go to school. My question is toileting- can't it be on the seat and transferred to the next child???? The info said to keep them out of pools until the infection clears. Good luck with that one in the dog days of summer here in the south!

I saw an information sheet at the secretary's desk at the preschool that caught my eye; she said it was in a different class but I read it anyway. Since kids with eczema (both of my kids have it) are more susceptible to this virus, I wanted to research more at home.

From what I've read, most treatments are traumatic, and the ones that aren't haven't been proven effective. I have read that it can last for a year or longer, because the more they scratch, the more it spreads. I also read that moisturizing the area can help with the itchiness.

Good luck! I'm keeping my eye out for these things! Do they ooze or are they dry?

Jenn

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J.H.

answers from Dothan on

Ihave found that many doctors are notvery up on skin conditions my daughter has small white pimple bumps around her hair falical and no one seeemed to know what they were until finally a PA knew exactly whatthey were and what cause d them Keratosis Pilaris, or chicken skin syndrome. With your child having a named condition that spreads I would get a second opion on treatment. With my daughter it was loofah and cut out dairy.

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K.S.

answers from Fayetteville on

There is a naturopathic remedy that has been shown to be helpful. It is a non-traditional medical route, so sometimes MD's scoff at that a bit, but I say if it works, it is worth a try. Here is a website with info: http://www.molluscum-contagiosum.net/

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H.J.

answers from Birmingham on

Please do not worry. My son had the same thing. The treatment for this is more painful than the bumps & not something I chose to put my child through. We were told once you irritate enough of the bumps the immune system will kick in & get rid of them. It can take up to 18 months. I got a loofah & would scrub the mess out of him in the tub & then put on hydrocortisone cream. The bumps were gone in less than a month.

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D.R.

answers from Biloxi on

wart remover. we used duofilm and covered the sores.

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F.P.

answers from Little Rock on

Omg. I have only met one other person whose child has had this. My son who is now 5 had molluscum for over a year. I worked in a doctor's office with his pediatrician at the time. They do not treat this. It was more of an eyesore than bothersome to him. I would sit and pop them while he was sleeping. He had them all over his abdomen and the upper thighs. We went to an infectious disease doctor and everything. I did find some soap that I think really helped him. I don't really know if it was the soap or the molluscum had finally ran its course but it definately helped his skin, eczema and molluscum. It is called African Black Soap. I got it from Inspirational Treasure online. It is $7.00 and definatley worth a shot. Her web site is http://inspirationaltreasure.net This lady has all kinds of handmade soap. If you try this, would love to know if it helped.

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M.D.

answers from Auburn on

My son who is now 13 years old had the same thing. The doctor told us it was a type of wart that would eventually go away on its own. The places kept getting bigger and seemed to spread. I pulled the "seeds" out of them one evening and cleaned his back. When we removed the "seeds" they were like rubber bands snapping out of his back. He does have small scars from the removal (and they did bleed some) but he has never had any since. I'm not saying that is what you should do .....but it got rid of them for us. I wanted you to know that there are others who have had the same problem with no treatment offered.

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C.H.

answers from Little Rock on

Hey S.,

I understand exactly what you are talking about. These little things are horrible and so irritating. My niece had them and then my son and another niece caught them. My sister in law said oh they are not contagious but oh they are. My son got them and kept them for awhile. His were first on his stomach, then his arms and then they went down to his private area and some on the backs of his knees and legs. Talk about horrible. Their is medicine and I will have to look in my cabinet to get then name of it. It is expensive but it does help and they do eventually go away or out grow it. You have to have a RX for it. I was told that its a virus in their body that shows up like a wart and that eventually their body will fight it. My son occasionally will have one pop up on his stomach. What I did and this is what I was told...when they did fester up, I would pop them(this didn't take much because it had a little head and core like seed that would come out. It would bleed like crazy, I would clean it with alcohol then put the medicine on it and cover it. It would then go away. They all eventually did but it, like you said was about 8 months or so. My nieces were horrible. She had them on her neck and they would be sore like and nasty. I was very thankful that you couldn't see my sons and I made sure that I took care of them and cleaned them really good. Make sure you wash your hands after touching them. I hope some of this helps and I will look at the name of the medicine that I used. Good Luck!!

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A.L.

answers from Fort Smith on

I found this web site that might be of some help. One of my 2yr old's has been having a simular problem so I'm thinking of getting it myself. Hope this helps.

http://www.molluscum.com/index.php

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M.M.

answers from Huntsville on

Go to WebMD -- look it up. This is the site my doctor suggested I use.

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K.B.

answers from Lake Charles on

I have a 6 yr old and 4 yr old battling this for the last 6 months also. Lucky for us we haven't had a major outbreak. I have tried the "molluscom contagiousum.com" site mentioned by another mom. They sell something called "silvercure". I did help some, but the methods are actually pretty harsh, in my opinion. You actually have to pop the mature lesions. (imagine squeezing pimples - on your child!!) This went over like a ton of bricks with my kids. Every night was a crying, screaming nightmare. My husband would agree with me 100%. Once you break those open, you have to cover with something that is similar to a liquid bandaid. It has alcohol in it, so it burns the spot that you just squeezed (did I mention that it bleeds alot?). I don't know if you have taken your child to a dermatologist (I didn't). I would at least try that before investing in any other type of treatment. I will say that after all of the drama with the "silvercure", the molluscum has diminished, but not gone away. You have to treat until it's completely gone. I don't think I can keep punishing my kids with the mental agony they go thru over the whole thing. I actually think I'm going to try wart remover on a few and see what kind of results I get with that.

I wish you luck. Hope that you find something that works for your baby!

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L.

answers from Baton Rouge on

If it's what I'm thinking, my nieces battled that for a long time. It's a type of virus. One of my nieces had to have them scraped off which was painful. They probably won't want to do that to your baby. As far as I know it's harmless but extremely contagious.

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J.B.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I am a nurse and mother, both of my girls had this. I have done research on it because I am a school nurse and it goes around our school every year. I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that the bumps are harmless, and the virus that causes them won't make your son feel sick. The bad news is that the virus is contagious by skin to skin contact, so try to keep the bumps covered when possible. Also, it takes 6 months to 5 years to run its course.

For both of my girls, the first few months were the worst. After that, the bumps would only appear a few at a time. One of my girls got over it in about a year, the other took four years. My pediatrician also did not want to treat it becuase it will not harm the children. However, two of my friends brought their sons to the dermatologist with Molluscum. They were given cream to put on the bumps, but it made blisters on their skin where the bumps were. The cream made the bumps look like a wart does after treatment, and the skin looked red and painful. I opted not to do this, it looked worse to me than just leaving it alone.

Good luck and I hope this information is helpful.

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T.D.

answers from Lafayette on

All 3 of my children had this. My boys were around 9-12 yrs old and my daughter was 2. They all had it on their stomachs and their arms. I took the boys to the doc first and he said that it was viral and that they would grow out of it. They were old enough to tell me that it was really itchy and bothersome because they could pop and ooze. As for my daughter, she had it the worse. The doc prescibed something. (I can't remember the name, but it was around $200) We just couldn't afford that and my insurance didn't cover it. One day, one of my friend's daughter was playing with my daughter and saw the bumps on her arm. She said she had had that when she was little too. She said her mom put antibiotic ointment on them. So, I tried it and within days, the bumps were gone! When I told the doc, he really didn't seem to interested and said that it really was something that shouldn't have worked. She's 4 now and hasn't had it since. Maybe it's worth a try!

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L.J.

answers from Shreveport on

My daughter, 4years old this month also has the Molluscum. She got the disease at age 2, while in child care. It is spread through contact, and unlucky for her she has it on her groin area, which at first I thought was some sort of rash, then her pediatrician treated her for staph. When the treatment did not help she was sent to a dermatologist who then started a treatment much like they use for warts, by freezing the pimple like bumps off. This works, she had to go back for about 6 treatments before the spreading stopped. She now has recently had one appear, but I now know that the disease dies off after 5 years on its own. However, if the bumps spread again I will take her back in for another round of treatments. I hope this helps.

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J.M.

answers from Tulsa on

My son also had these several years ago, although he was not as young as yours. If you pop the bumps and get the hard head out of it that will keep it from spreading. We used a wonderful dertemologist who used a bug juice application and then but duct tape on it. For any of the ones that came after that we just popped them and it worked fine. Hope this helps.

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J.T.

answers from Montgomery on

My 6 year old daughter has it. Her pediatrician, Dr. Deibel, gave us a cream to use twice a day which has helped a lot but doesn't make them go completely away. Dr. Deibel said the virus lasts between 6 and 18 months and can be spread to others if taking a bath together.

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E.P.

answers from New Orleans on

my daughter had these on the back of her knees when she was 1 1/2. I brought her to Dr. Dierdre Hooper, a dermatologist, uptown & she put "beetle juice" on them & they went away within a week & have never returned. Call her or another dermatologist & they should treat them. good luck!

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A.K.

answers from Birmingham on

My son had one on his head but it got so big that I had to take him to a pediatric dermatologist to have it cut off. The doctor told me he could get more etc. however he has not gotten anymore. I have been that children typically grow out of them.

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M.R.

answers from Tulsa on

My son has been battling these for about a year now, my daughter just started getting them. Their pediatrician didnt seem to think they were an issue, they did give us some cream to rub on the bumps, cant think of the name of it right now, but I'm sure your dr will know.

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T.S.

answers from New Orleans on

Hey S., I'm so glad you asked that question! My 11 yr old daughter has it and one even turned into a staph infection, I think from her scratching. She started getting several more and even had some of the bigger ones froze off. I wouldn't suggest popping them on your baby. I wouldn't even think of it for my 11 yr old. My neighbor's (who's a pediatric nurse) daughter had it and she went to that website molluscum.com. Instead of silvercure, she bought zymaderm which is all natural and safe for kids. All you do is dab the ointment on just the head of the wart. No popping or squeezing! Within 2 wks, it should be clear. The only problem is my neighbor says it smells bad! The good part is that 1 bottle is only like $29.00 or you can get 2 bottles for $60.00 - something like that. I'm going to order it for my daughter. Wish you well and hope for the best. T.

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S.F.

answers from Jackson on

I have two friends with children who have been diagnosed with Molluscum. Both had been told by doctors it would go away on its own in about 2 years and there is no treatment.

My friend started to do some research on Molluscum because she had never heard of it yet her pediatrician said it is very common in children. She found a website that offered a product to help combat this irritating disorder.

At that time her son was 5 and had the lesions on his arms, legs, under his arms, and the back of his knees. When he played during the summer the itching was worse because of him sweating.

He'd scratched them until he bled (which then caused them to spread more). She was upset because there wasn't anything she could do to help him.

Then she found the Molluscum website. They sell a product called Silver Cure. She said she didn't have anything to lose so she ordered the liquid bandage, the body wash, the ointment, and I think the lotion. She spent about $100.

It came within a week and she immediately started putting it on him. The liquid bandage stung on the open lesions but he was a trooper about that. Within a few days the lesions under one arm were gone. After a few more days his legs were almost clear. In total I think they used the product for about 2 weeks and he was totally clear of any lesions.

A co-worker happened to mention to us that his son had been diagnosed with Molluscum also and she recommeded the Silver Cure products to him. He ordered it and within a short time his son was free of lesions as well.

I looked at the packages and they are a bit pricey (to me) but if you order a la carte you can stay under/around the $100 mark.

They both said they are so glad they ordered Silver Cure. It was money well spent.

Read thru the entire website to make sure you can use it on your baby. If you can it would be worth the money spent.

the website is: www.molluscum.com

Good Luck!

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