OT - Do your kids have this?

[mommyofboys]

My ds (4) has molluscum contagiosum. Is there anyone else who is dealing with this or has dealt with this? My older ds had them also, but no where near as nasty as this case. With the older one - he had the bumps, they got nasty, popped and where gone - and most of his were hidden. The younger one has a bad case - all around his neck and now on his face and some on his arms. The get irritated and burst just to return again. I am considering taking him to the dermatologist but I don't want them to scrape them or burn them. Some research I have read about says that the derm will use "beetle juice". I am worried about school - this is contagious - I don't want him "banned".

 

[dougsmom98]

My kids had this. They are a pain in the butt! One of my sons had a bad case and there were even in his private region. The doctor gave him a prescription for Aldara - which is an antiviral drug. This worked and cleared them up for the most part. We are still dealing with it two years later though as it seems that he has another outbreak. The doctor doesn't want to continually have him using Aldara because it is pretty strong stuff, so we are kind of waiting it out. If these ended up in regions that were highly visible, I would consider trying this http://www.molluscum.com/

 

[MiniGirl]

My oldest dd has it. Yes, it is contagious, but your son should not be banned from school. I took my dd to 2 different doctors and both said the recommended course of treatment is "benign neglect." In other words, just let it run it's course. It is very common in children and is a "self-limiting" disease. In other words, those bumps are as far as it goes. It will usually go away on its own but sometimes it will linger until puberty.

However, since it is on your sons neck and face and is bothering him, treatment may be the best course of action for your son. It spreads VERY easily when scratched and it sounds as if that is what is happening. Not touching it and hand washing are the best ways to prevent it from spreading. Burning and freezing are options, but there is also a cream that can be used.

Definitely see a dermatologist, but rest easy knowing this is not a dangerous thing to have and treatment is done primarily for the comfort of the patient and aestetic reasons.

Now... here's the disclaimer.... I am NOT a doctor/nurse/etc. I have absolutely no medical training whatsoever. My opinions are based solely on our personal experience with this. I have heard of other doctors who feel treatment is a MUST in all cases, but neither of the docs we went to felt it necessary for my dd.

 

[momofrrr]

Our DS (22) had them when he was about 4 also. I took him to a dermotologist but the treatment was very expensive so I took him to the pediatrician and she treated them. We choose to have them frozen off. It was not pretty but I needed to have it behind us because I had an infant at the time. Good Luck!

 

[FoundMyPrince]

My DD3 had this last year. I hadn't heard of it before she had it.

We ended up changing pediatricians partially because of this. The first ped said there was nothing we could do about it; let it run it's course - could be 6 months, could be 5 years. After six months, and the spots getting larger and spreading, we visited a second ped. The second recommended Aldara - very, very expensive, and very potent. We were given two weeks worth of meds, and applied three times a week (if memory serves me correct). The spots disappeared within a couple weeks. I think he said Aldara works in about 90% of cases.

Just make sure the child doesn't scratch the spots as they will spread very quickly. We trimmed DD fingernails very short (and still do today) because the "stuff" inside the spots can be very contagious.

 

[Fintastic]

DD had it when she was around three or so, and it was on her face so the pediatrician didn't want to put anything topical on it. It looked pretty bad for 6-9 months, but it cleared up on its own!

 

[allyphoe]

DD had it on the backs of her legs from about 4.5 to a bit past when she turned 5, so ~6 months or so. She got chickenpox (which was a really weird case due to being vaccinated, and we initially thought was just the molluscum getting worse), and when the pox were gone, so were the molluscum.

We were putting bits of medical tape over them, in hopes of keeping them from spreading. No clue if it worked, though.

 

[mommyofboys]

My kids had this. They are a pain in the butt! One of my sons had a bad case and there were even in his private region. The doctor gave him a prescription for Aldara - which is an antiviral drug. This worked and cleared them up for the most part. We are still dealing with it two years later though as it seems that he has another outbreak. The doctor doesn't want to continually have him using Aldara because it is pretty strong stuff, so we are kind of waiting it out. If these ended up in regions that were highly visible, I would consider trying this http://www.molluscum.com/

I have looked at that website - I wonder if it really works. they talk about it being the silver that cures it. I have that silver cream for burns...I wonder if that would work.

 

[mommyofboys]

DD had it on the backs of her legs from about 4.5 to a bit past when she turned 5, so ~6 months or so. She got chickenpox (which was a really weird case due to being vaccinated, and we initially thought was just the molluscum getting worse), and when the pox were gone, so were the molluscum.

We were putting bits of medical tape over them, in hopes of keeping them from spreading. No clue if it worked, though.

You mention medical tape - with the older ds we thought they were warts and put wart dics on him, but my younger does not like bandaids so I don't know if that would work.

 

[mommyofboys]

Thanks to everyone for responding. I know that it is fairly common, but I still hate it affecting MY house. I guess the best thing to do is go to the dermatologist. Can you get this again or is it done (like chicken pox)? I have been putting hydrocortisone cream when I see him itch (because he has ezcema also) and I worry about them spreading and getting infected.

 

[deva]

What a timely post! After hours of scouring the net I decided to check with fellow Dis-ers about this. DD was just diagnosed today. Ped prescribed Aldara 3X wkly. We need to apply at night and wash off in the am. After putting her to bed I started some research and now see that Aldara is quite potent. DD has maybe 25-30 spread out over torso, arm and upper leg. Ped also said to soak in epsom salts. Checked with a friend. Her kids never had them, but both neighbors did and they went with the beetle juice. I found a good thread. Haven't finished it yet, but there are a lot of recommendations like lemon myrtle and tea tree oil.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=540244&page=9d

Please keep us posted on this thread or PM if you find anything that works well.

 

[turkeymama]

Thanks to everyone for responding. I know that it is fairly common, but I still hate it affecting MY house. I guess the best thing to do is go to the dermatologist. Can you get this again or is it done (like chicken pox)? I have been putting hydrocortisone cream when I see him itch (because he has ezcema also) and I worry about them spreading and getting infected.

You're right that it is common. I know how you feel. My little boy had them pretty bad, and eczema as well. I think the dermatologist is a good place to start. In our case, the dermatologist gave us Cantharone (beetle juice) to put on the molloscums, but I don't remember how often. DS didn't have any side effects from the meds and the doc was able to give us quite a few samples. I had to get the prescription filled and the bumps were gone in less than 6 months. We only had one that popped (actually, a daycare worker did it) and several more appeared in that area several days after that. So yes, they can spread. Good luck, and be patient.

 

[kacaju]

my dd9 had it a few years ago. We went to the Derm. and they froze them and gave us the Aldara. My dd has a few scars from them on her arm.

 

[bas71873]

My DD6 is in this club too. Right now we are free & clear but it was this time last year that some bumps surfaced behind her knees and on inner thighs. We too used a creme (maybe Aldara, can't remember) and for us it didn't do much, but most of it went away on it's own. My DD is not a scratcher so I guess that helps Fingers crossed!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Ds had this when he was 3, and the derm froze them off.

 

[chloe770]

DS had them when he was 3. After months of playing around with the Pediatrician, trying the Silver Care, etc... we went to a Dermatologist. She used the "beettle juice" every 2 weeks for about 6 months. Even if DS only had 1 spot, they treated it. The first treatment hurt him only because he had alot of spots, and only until we gave him a bath to wash it off. After that it did not hurt him at all. I would not wait to take your child to the Dermatologist. They know how to deal with this crud much better then Pediatrians. Good Luck.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

DD10 had molluscum in April. We did take her to a dermatologist after her pediatrician thought it was molluscum but thought we should be referred just in case. The dermatologist had us use Retin-A to bring the spots to a head faster, and we used Altabax on one spot that DD10 had scratched and had become infected. We used hydrocortisone or Benadryl cream for the itch, but she was old enough to sort of understand she couldn't scratch. She was better in about a month to six weeks.

No one else in our family got it, BTW, not even DD6 who likely doesn't have any immunity to it.

 

[toystorymom]

My DS8 had it earlier this year on his left side and arm. It was quite rough looking but it was mostly covered by his shirt. We decided to wait and see before trying any of the very potent medications. I would say he had it for maybe 2 months total and now it is completely gone. In fact, I had forgotten all about it until I read this post!

To the OP, because it is near the face, I would call a dermatologist and see what s/he recommends. Also, it is contagious but definitely not something they should be kept out of school for. Good luck!

 

[Fintastic]

Also, it is contagious but definitely not something they should be kept out of school for.

Definitely. Our pediatrician said DD probably got hers from another kid at daycare anyway. And you can't very well keep kids out of school for 6+ months!

 

[momsully]

DS7 had it on his legs earlier this year. The dermatologist used the beetle juice. It took three treatments over the course of a month and a half but they are gone. The beetle juice has to be rinsed off after a certain amount of time - we left it on to long the second time (forgot and started eating dinner) and it really hurt for a day or so.