OT - Do your kids have this?

[princessmom29]

DD had a prety sever case last year. She has excema already, so at first I thought it was a bad case of excema. I couldn't slear it so i took her to the Ped. who said that he thought it was molluscum and sent us to the dremo. We used aldara for most of the spots and retin-a where she had skin to skin contact, like the back of her knees. The doctor said to treat it until it became red and irritated and stop, and only to do 5-10 at a time,she probably had colse to 50 spots at one point. Several became really inflamed and I had to drain them. The doc said I could do it, or bring her in and let him. we did fine at home. It took about 2 months, but we got rid of it, and have had no more in the past year.

 

[clanwilson]

It is contagious if the "bumps" ooze. In my daughter's case, when one broke open, it dried up soon afterward.

The silver cream never worked for her. I found that putting small pieces of latex bandaids over the bumps worked best to dry them up. (Not the gauze part.) You could also try duct tape or anything that keeps oxygen from hitting the skin. She never had the virus on her face though, so seeing the tape or bandaids wasn't a concern. It took about a year for the virus to totally disappear from her system. Good luck!

 

[mommyofboys]

After starting this thread last night - I had a dream (or should I say nightmare) that I caught these from my ds!

After reading everyone's posts I will be contacting a dermatologist to take him to. With most of his bumps (I need to think of a cool name to start calling these things because saying what it is really called just sounds scary) being on his face and neck I don't want it getting worse. The ones on his neck keep getting red and then burst and bleed, etc and I don't want the virus to spread in that area - plus I have heard of people who develop MRSA.

 

[mommyofboys]

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.

Thanks for the link - I will have to go check it out. Maybe I can find a the miracle cure and become rich!!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

. The ones on his neck keep getting red and then burst and bleed, etc and I don't want the virus to spread in that area - plus I have heard of people who develop MRSA.

We actually wondered if DD10 had gotten MRSA before she was diagnosed. One of her spots became infected and looked very much like early MRSA. Fortunately, the Altabax cream took care of the infection for her pretty easily.

 

[deva]

I am going to try to find a pediatric dermatologist Monday, but am concened about how long it might take to get an appt. I'm going to alternate the Aldara with tea tree oil and will stop if DD's skin is getting too irritated. I also ordered Lemon Myrtle today. It was only $15 and I'll have it on hand if and when I decide to use it (if not, it has a bunch of other household uses - at least my house will smell "lemony fresh"). Crossing my fingers that the med will work.

 

[rt2dz]

All three of my kids had them last year. It started with DS#1. He only had 3 in total and the pedi took them off because when he asked DS#1 if they bothered him, DS#1 said "a lot." From the time he broke out until his were taken off was about 6 months. His scarred, but they're tiny scars and in unnoticeable areas.

DS#3 got them next. He had hundreds of them. They would get big and horrible. As soon as one went away, two more appeared. Our pedi gave him medication for them, but DS#3 would complain when we put it on. Plus, each one removed with medication scarred, so we quit. We knew from the information the pedi gave us and from researching online they'd just clear up on their own anyhow. Then one night he went to bed with tons of them and woke up with zero. All the ones that cleared up on their own did not scar. He ended up with them for about 4 months total.

DS#2 broke out the day after DS#3 stopped showing up. He had a moderate amount, but they would pop up and disappear on their own 2-3 days later. So again, we just let it go. After about 3 weeks they quit popping up and cleared up altogether.

 

[princessmom29]

I am going to try to find a pediatric dermatologist Monday, but am concened about how long it might take to get an appt. I'm going to alternate the Aldara with tea tree oil and will stop if DD's skin is getting too irritated. I also ordered Lemon Myrtle today. It was only $15 and I'll have it on hand if and when I decide to use it (if not, it has a bunch of other household uses - at least my house will smell "lemony fresh"). Crossing my fingers that the med will work.

I was told by the dermo NOT under any circumstances to use the aldara in conjunction with anything else including herbals or hydrocortozone. There can be dangerous interactions!!!! Aldara is an immunostimulant that ilicits an immune response from the body to the virus, and putting anything else on the already stimulated area can be dangerous.

 

[deva]

After starting this thread last night - I had a dream (or should I say nightmare) that I caught these from my ds!

I've been itching all day

I got an appointment with the nurse practitioner at the pediatric derm next Monday. It would've been over a month to get in with the derm and the receptionist said that the NP actually had a lot of experience treating molluscum so we'll see what they recommend. Crossing my fingers that it does not spread any more.

 

[LisaG]

Dealing with this now with my DD13. The spots are all over the back of her legs. With shorts and bathing suit season coming up, I'm starting to panic. We have tried the Aldera cream, but it has only helped a little. This is such a frustrating virus! Any advice would be helpful.

 

[mommyofboys]

I was surprised to see a thread I started a while ago pop back up!

Fortunately, for my ds his went away ~ I forget what the "bump in charge" is called, but anyway it "got angry" and popped and then they all went away.

I didn't pay attention to see if you have other children, but it is HIGHLY contagious! My nephew ended up contracting it from my boys. My parents have a hot tub and we are thinking that is what did it.

My nephew had his in near his bottom and his pediatrician was afraid that they would get infected if he was not cleaned properly after using the bathroom (he was only 3 then) so they sent him to the dermatologist. The dr used beetle juice - it worked like a charm. If I would have known that, I would have done that in a heartbeat!

 

[deva]

The dr used beetle juice - it worked like a charm.

Second that! My DD only needed 2 rounds of the beetle juice. First time they treated over 30. About a month later only 5. The nurse practioner said that she was surprised they had gone away so quickly.

I did tons of online research and talked to a LOT of other moms who had dealt with it, so I also did some "home remedies". I washed her in tea tree oil soap and dabbed each one with apple cider vinegar. In between the beetle juice treatments if a new one popped up I took a wee-tiny bit of cotton ball, soaked in apple cider vinegar and put directly on the spot and then covered with a mini band-aid overnight. The next morning the white head had turned to brown and then it just died and dried up. I really do think the ACV helped.

If this is your first time dealing with molluscum I feel your pain because I was agonizing over it at the end of last summer. Good news is that it is relatively harmless and does go away completely. I would not hesitate to see a pediatric dermatologist to speed up the healing time though.

PS. Our ped gave us a prescription for Aldara but I was not comfortable using it

 

[ChrisandMeghann]

I had that when i was in High School wrestling. I dont really recomend doing what i did but it worked. Scrapped them off with a knife and they went away after a couple of days.

 

[momof4kid]

My DS5 had one on his forearm for months, it got gross, popped and is now gone, but then DD2 developed some, mostly around her genital area. It was only about 5 for about a month, now over the past month she has about 10 there, some bigger and a few on her torso. Our pediatrician said to just let it run its course. I'll have to see if it keeps spreading.

 

[Zeebs]

They are usually found in conjunction with excema, in the UK they don't usually do anything for them. They use to pin prick them but apparently it caused scaring so they don't bother anymore.


It is an immunity thing, they can last 6 months to 5 years usually, my first had them but he has excema my second never did. Have never seen an adult with them.

Kirsten

 

[jakoky]

My son had this a few years back...my doc told us to just let it run it course, and told us whatever we did, do NOT let anyone talk us into trying to burn them off...he told us it is extremely painful for the kids...we were just careful, if any of them got ugly looking, we covered them...no one in the family caught them from him and they ran there course within around a year or so....

 

[Zeebs]

My son had this a few years back...my doc told us to just let it run it course, and told us whatever we did, do NOT let anyone talk us into trying to burn them off...he told us it is extremely painful for the kids...we were just careful, if any of them got ugly looking, we covered them...no one in the family caught them from him and they ran there course within around a year or so....

Thats pretty much the view that most of the doctors here (in the UK) take with it.

Kirsten

 

[indimom]

I've seen a LOT of this. First we noticed was on DS about two years ago now. He suffers from exzema and it started there (on the backs of his knees). The derm used the "blister beetle" med on it until she ran out (no longer able to order in the US?). I really don't recommend this anyway, it left scars (dimples/pockmarks) all over his legs.
It eventually ran it's course, in about a year. Then, DD got it. She had a few issues also as hers were in her armpit area and kept getting irritated and infected (antibiotics twice). Then, it moved on to several nieces and nephews and some of my day care kids.
No matter how hard we try to avoid the spread, it seems to make its rounds. All the various doctors have agreed with the advice to just let it run its course. Some kids had it dissapear within a month or so, some took longer, none more than a year. Some would only get a couple spots, some had dozens.
It's horrible to have happened to a pre-teen at the start of summer. You might try the Apple Cider Vinegar idea, can't see how that would hurt anything. Even if it just dries them up faster. They really only look bad when they are at the "sore" stage. Prior to that they don't look any worse than a bug bite.
Good Luck. This too will pass, but I feel for her in the meantime.

 

[crisi]

The beetlejuice can cause scarring, and the antivirals aren't risk free either. Since its basically cosmetic, unless it infects when they pop, and generally clears up by itself over the course of a year, a wait and see approach is really common - especially if you are dealing with the face.

 

[deva]

The beetlejuice can cause scarring

My DD has no scars from the beetlejuice. Derm Ped said scarring comes from scratching/scraping when they itch, get infected etc. With the bettlejuice it causes a very small blister to form which then pops. Key is to avoid scratching, keep blisters clean and avoid infection (for this reason they don't use bettlejuice near genitals as there is risk of bacteria getting into the blisters as they heal). My DD had none on the face but they did tell me they would never use Aldara or bettlejuice on the face.

If scarring is a major concern, you can treat just a few with the beetlejuice to jump start the immune system. Really that is what you are trying to do - get the body to fight them off - and you can either wait it out or try something to get things cleared sooner.

I do think curettage and freezing leave scars.