Common Diagnosis
Molluscum Contagiosum
Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection from a type of virus which appears as small, skin colored bumps anywhere on the body. It is easily spread and is contagious on the same person, or from person to person. We see it most commonly on children where it has become nearly epidemic. The bad news is that it takes our bodies about 12-18 months to develop immunity to molluscum. The good news is that it will eventually go away on its own, usually without scarring.
Treatment of molluscum can be frustrating. There is no FDA approved medication to treat molluscum. In the past, medications that caused blistering would be applied to each molluscum. It was difficult to safely control the response and therefore this medication is not FDA approved in the United States. If the patient is old enough to withstand a little discomfort, then freezing the molluscum with liquid nitrogen can be done, or they can simply be curetted off the skin. In children who cannot (or will not) tolerate this, there is a medication called Aldara that works by eliciting or attracting an immune response to the molluscum, making the patients body fight off the molluscum more effectively. This medication will normally shorten the length of time the patient has molluscum by several months.
Children with eczema, usually get molluscum worse and it can be a real problem for them. For this reason, they should be seen as soon as possible to work out a treatment plan. Most importantly, as parents we can be reassured that the molluscum will not cause our children any long term problems.
If you or your child has molluscum, make an appointment at Greenville Dermatology for a discussion of this problem and develop a treatment plan.