[crowsnest6]

Hi Hadenough!  Yes, be careful with the vinegar, it can burn! We tried it with our 3 yo daughter who also has eczema, and it burned her skin once. We had to turn to the freezing with numbing. She goes back next week for another visit. I thought they were all gone but think I have found 4 on her right leg all the other 3 kids are clear. It DOES go away! I know how aggrevating it can be, believe me! You want to SCREAM, CRY, etc... stress probably doesn't help it either! You can also try tea tree oil. There are several home remedies that you can google for and try. With 4 kids, all 4 took different things! Our daughter didn't respond with the aldara or retin A but the second son did. We think our oldest son got it on a toilet seat as they started out inside his inner thigh. We had no idea what they were! He would complain with them and we just told him they were skin bumps! Never heard of them! Then they started getting really big and red and spreading. Are yours turning red ? That means your immune system is waking up to them. I have heard of people using rubber gloves and during shower time taking a STERILE needle and breaking the skin, squeezing out the white (PLEASE BE CAREFUL, the white core is the contagious part! the seeds!!) and using betadine and alcohol etc...after getting the core out. Wash it down the drain (the core) ~ treat each on individually. That white core you really have to be careful with!  Hope all goes well for you! so sorry you have this, it was very very exhausting for me in our family. Prayers kept me going too!!  Blessings ~~<><~~   

[crowsnest6]

Oh, almost forgot, there are things you can take to boost your immune system. Here are some things we tried, Sambucol, Animal Parade kids Immune booster, Animal Parade Multivitamins. There has to be others, my brain is tired now!!  Blessings to you!!

[NicoleS]

My daughter had molloscum contagiosum for 5 months.  The sites I went to and the doctors I saw said to just leave it alone and it would go away in a matter of months or maybe years.  I did leave it alone but I didn't seem to be changing and I was anxious for it to go away and not spread.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that may or may not work and eventually found a website that said to just cover it with medical tape.  I covered the molloscum and changed the tape every two days or so.  After three weeks when I went to change the tape it looked like a pimple that was ready to pop.  I got some tissue and squeezed out the core.  I put zinc oxide on the skin where it was for a few days and now it is almost completely gone.  Cheap and easy!

[NC Parent]

My four year old daughter had one "bump" on her leg last summer and I didn't think anything about it, nor did I know what it was.  In January of this year, everything changed and by the middle of February she was covered with over 100 bumps.  As of today (June 6) she has one bump left on the back of one knee and it's on its way out.  I've waited to post anything here until I knew what the results would be.

We tried almost everything, including many suggestions that I found on this site, and after several months took our daughter to one the pediatric dermatologists at Duke.  I also talked with my own dermatologist.  The derms both said that their arsenal of treatment options pretty much involves burning, cutting, freezing, or irritating with chemicals (beetle juice, aldara cream, etc.), none of which were appealing to us.  The following is a brief summary of what we tried, in the order we tried, and the results:

Zymaderm - seemed to keep the bumps from getting bigger, but after using it for 3 weeks, the skin surrounding the bumps was terribly irritated, so we stopped it.  The zymaderm did not make any of the bumps go away.

Apple Cider Vinegar - this really irritated the surrounding skin, but didn't really affect the 2 bumps we treated with it so we didn't try this for long.

Lemon Myrtle Oil - we diluted this 1:10 with olive oil but did not have any real results with it.

Silvercure ointment and lotion - I ordered the ointment when the zymaderm had irritated my daughter's skin so much.  The ointment did not make the bumps go away, but it really helped the surrounding skin and seemed to stop the bumps from spreading.

Salicylic acid wart remover (we used duofilm) - Both my dermatologist and the pediatric dermatologist said to try applying this to the bumps no more than 2 to 3 times a week, and NEVER apply to the face.  THIS WORKED.  Typically, after two applications of the stuff, the bump would crust over and the white part would stick out enough so that we could grab it.  The wound would bleed and then heal nicely.  I still apply the silvercure ointment around the areas where the bumps are still healing, as it seems to keep infections away.

Cimetidine - Our daughter is in the second month of a 3 month prescription of this.  Note that the Duke pediatric dermatologist recommends a 3 month course.  She indicated that it might work or it might not work.  It seems to have worked for us.

I think that the cimetidine, combined with the salicylic acid and the silvercure ointment was the combination that worked for us.  

One important thing to note - if you pick or squeeze the bump off before it has matured (before the white part is exposed), it is more likely to scar.  

I hope that our experience helps someone else.  I am thankful for the information I received from this forum since the beginning of the year.

[nopaintreatment.com]

I just would like to make two points based on this post by NC Parent with GREAT EMPHASIS! 

FIRST, if you have one bump or just a few, please get it taken care of ASAP regardless of the type of treatment you wish to use.  With one bump or a few, my recommendation would be to see a dermatologist and get the lesion(s) removed. 

If this poster and us would have done this, we would have saved our other two children from this terrible condition and we both would have saved our children from having over 100 bumps or lesions.

Many doctors will say it will go away on its own.  This is true for MANY children but do you want to risk getting 100 or more bumps 6, 7, or 8 months down the road with your child? Do you want to risk spreading Molluscum to your other children (if you have other children) or their friends and classmates?

Trust me, it is not worth it.  Not worth your stress or money. Get it taken care of!  People are looking for cheap solutions, well if you get medical advice from an Medical Doctor, and have the insurance we have, it was $45 co-pay per child per visit WITH OUR INSURANCE when we saw the dermatologist!  We also saw the pediatrician first for a referral for each child at a cost of $30 co-pay per child.  Just with the first visits, we are well into hundreds of dollars!  If you are waiting to find a cheap solution, you are playing with fire.  Read the forums and get some kind of treatment started for your child.

SECOND, I wish I would have been as smart as this poster!  Treat a few bumps with your treatment of choice.  This way you can see which treatment works or is effective without irritating healthy skin and possibly making healthy skin more susceptible to Molluscum spreading.  Remember, just because someone states a certain treatment didn't work for them, that doesn't mean it will not work for you.  This poster stated that Apple Cider Vinegar didn't work.  I know I have read many post where it did work on this forum and others.  There just isn't any universal treatment for Molluscum.  Try a treatment, see if it works and if it did you have FOUND your SOLUTION.

Very good information and technique, thank you for your post!

[Molluscumdotus]

Molluscum Contagiosum Product Review Guide
More than 25 products for Molluscum Contagiosum are put to the test
Hello My Name is Richard, and I want to share my findings after many years of battling this disease on my own and putting my medical knowledge to work ,during the course of the disease I tried many many commercially available proucts for molluscum including name brands and generic powders, creams, pills, ointments you name it,  I had them on my face, under my arm pits on my private areas, it was widespread, and im here to tell you exactly the reactions I had with every product I used,I will tell you exactly what worked and what was a complete waste of time and energy, during the course of the disease about 3 years to be exact, I bought almost every product available on the market, , and put them to the test on my body, and now im sharing my findings and experience with you, so you don’t have to suffer like I did.
I want to make a note that this is a sponsorless study and i do not favor any product out there, on the contrary i focus on individual ingredients rather than name brands by itself, hope my findings and experience with molluscum contagiosum bring to you a breath of relief , knowing that  a cure is out there.
Buy the pitch free booklet and stay informed at Molluscum.us

[fingerscrossed]

Hadenough, I COMPLETELY sympathize with you!

I'm a 19-year-old girl and have now had molluscum for almost 2 months.  My boyfriend has been wonderful in his response, but to say it's been a pain is an understatement! I really relate to your comment about it controlling your relationship and peace of mind. I don't think about anything else for a good part of my day. Summer (and bathing suits...and swimming pools) coming up hasn't boosted my morale, either.

Mine is located around my upper, inner thighs and my buttocks. Incredibly awkward! When I first found this, not knowing what I was dealing with, I went for a herpes swab test which (thankfully!) came out negative. Next a series of antibiotics were tried to treat my "bacterial infection".  About six weeks down the line my GP referred me to a dermatologist who I saw last week.  He diagnosed it as molluscum, and I'm waiting on a biopsy to confirm that. He also use the liquid nitrogen to freeze off the large spots, but I have since found a few more new ones.  I have been applying tea tree oil to the general area 2x daily, and have covered any spots I can with medical tape. My idea is to try and keep them completely isolated until I can get back to the dermatologist on Monday to have them frozen off. However, that's not quite foolproof considering the area I'm dealing with and the fact that I cannot shave. (Wonderful, isn't it?) The spots I can't put tape over I've dabbed with liquid wart remover with salicylic acid, in hopes it will dry them up or at least keep them from spreading. I'm also taking thuya pills 3x a day, echinecea, and a multivitamin, and not reusing any clothing or towels. As you can tell, I'm trying to wage an all-out war with the hopes that one or a combination of the things will be successful. 

A hug to you, hadenough, and to anyone else out there with this, because I know I could use one often.  I will update with anything that works for me.

Touch wood something works!

[fingerscrossed]

As an update, I've ordered Zymaderm, having heard good things from a number of people on forums. We'll see how it works!

[crowsnest6]

we tried zymaderm but it didn't work, however, there have been many people it DID work for also use their wash that goes with it

[momof3]

My son has had molluscum for several months. His started in areas where he had dry skin. We have found these posts to be so helpful. This is what is working for us.  Vitamins (B and multi), Silver biotics (From GNC), garlic and Tea Tree Oil. He started taking these last Saturday and in a week they have improved by 50%. We have popped several of them, but it hurts really bad.  Were we have popped them, they are scabbing over. We were putting peroxide on the ones we popped, but the dermatologist said that slows healing.  He ended up spreading them by shaving.  So, PLEASE don't make that mistake. Also, when putting on the tea tree oil, dab it on, don't rub it.  I think that can cause it to spread as well. I wish we had read this forum right away when he was diagnosed!  Thanks to everyone for this information.

[AKH13]

so all of a sudden i start to get red pumps on the back of my leg, thinking it was a bug bite i itched it and since 6/ 21 its gotten a little bit worse. i leave for florida in about 3 weeks i want this stuff gone by then. im freaking out so much over this. i have no clue where i got it. if anyone knows the fastest way (that actually works) please let me know. im desperate right now
thanks

[fingerscrossed]

Crowsnest, I'm curious if the wash comes with it? I've ordered it off Amazon.

[cypher]

Hey all,
So good to find this forum!  I've had MC for a few weeks now - contracted it (I think) from gym equipment.

Anyway, I have very strong motivation to get it cured asap, so some of the stuff in this forum is great.  I've started a blog on my progress if anyone is interested - there's to much to put it all here, so the link is newbielink:http://molluscumcontagiosum.blogspot.com/ [nonactive]
I have no commercial interest in any treatments, I don't even have ads on my blog.  It's just my personal experience and reading, to be shared with whoever wants to read it.

The main points I want to stress are:

Get it treated as soon as possible. I left it a couple of weeks as I didn't realise what it was and that allowed it to spread
Don't shave the affected area - that appears to be the perfect way to spread it
Use cryotherapy in conjunction with occlusion therapy - see my blog
Eat healthy to build your immune system.

looking forward to getting more from this forum - stay positive!

[questionmark]

Hi-

Urine cures molluscum!! My 2 year old son had molluscum. I treated it with his own urine. It worked very fast, within a week it started to clear up.
What happened was he somehow contracted this nasty little virus perhaps at his doctors? It started slow but over some weeks it got worse and he suffered. It would spread in its typical way up from his belly. It got to his neck and now I began to really panic. What if it got on his face? I did an extensive search for a cure and naturally I assumed there would be a simple over the counter remedy. Boy was I wrong, the more research I did the more I was shocked that no one had a real solution for molluscum and that so many people have and live with molluscum.
What I found was the usual wait till it goes away crap or get some sort of vague complex treatment that would traumatize my kid. My wife called her father in Mongolia and he suggested the urine for a cure. After my son would pee in his pamper we would rub him with the pee wet pamper. What I do remember is that while he had molluscum it would never spread below his pampers and I had feared that it would spread to his penis and rectum. It never did due to the fact that urine was the barrier. In Asia urine is used for curing many blood related illness. Chingis Khan Used forms of this treatment to stay healthy. 
Please try it for all ages.

Roland         
[][][][]

Hi rolans i have a quick question about this remedy, how long did you leave your child with the urine on him before you washed it off?

[questionmark]

Also does anyone know if the virus stays on towls and clothing even after washing, do i need to throw out all of my towls and get new cloths?  i know vinager works for mollescum, i've had it before and seem to be getting it again uuugggg >< and when we had it we washed everything in cidar vinagar which works well, but we have it again over a year later and i'm just wondering if its due to the towels or what? does anyone know, much a appreciated thanks

[sealegs]

Ok, so finally after a lot of different home treatments, my molluscum was gone, or so it seemed.  My wife now is showing signs of molluscum.  We have only been together a short time, and didn't start sleeping together until my molluscum dissapeared.  But 6 months later she now has a few bumps. 

Are we just going to continue to pass it back and forth to eachother now?

Does it affect a woman differently at all?  Internally?

We are going to be trying to have a baby soon and I don't want this to complicate things.

Any experts out there with some answers?  I greatly appreciate it and this forum in general.

Thanks to all

[sealegs]

bump...no pun intended

[justincousin]

Hi. I have never posted to one of these forums before, however having just dealt with Molluscum I thought I would try to impart some advice / thoughts of my experience.

I'm in my 30's and slept with a friend of mine and I ended up getting molluscum from her. I had some little red bumps and I continued to shave over them in my pubic area, not knowing what they were. When I finally figured out what they were, I freaked out a bit since I have never ever had anything like this ever.  []  Luckily, after about 4 months they have gone away. Here are some tips / thoughts about what worked and what didn't work for me.

• Shaving over the bumps definitely made them spread. Don't shave or trim your pubic area when you have this

• I read about the Apple Cider Vinegar trick and putting in on with a small piece of cotton and leaving it on with a band aid over the molluscum for a few days to kill it.  This did not work for me. In fact, the Apple Cider Vinegar burned the skin in my pubic region quite badly and it took several months for the redness to go away. I would really be careful if you are using ACV.

•Also, if you are using ACV or any other product like Tree Tea Oil, be careful not to get it on other areas of your skin in the genital region. I accidentally dripped some ACV on my scrotum and it burned quite a bit. So, if you are a guy, just be very careful not to do more harm in this area! ; )

What I found did work for me was the following:

Wearing plastic gloves, I would take a toothpick and soak the tip of the toothpick in alcohol. I would then pop the molluscum and get the little yellow center out. Be careful with this center portion. Immediately get it off of your skin and throw it away. The molluscum with then bleed quite a bit! This is normal and would happen even if they were very small.  Just take a cotton ball soaked in alcohol or peroxide and hold it over it for a bit until the bleeding stops.  You may have to repeat this several times. The molluscum hole with then heal with in a few days and disappear slowly over the next week or two.  Popping them this way really helped me get rid of them. They would not going away on their own at all.

I also had a few removed by my dermatologist. This worked fine as well, however popping them as I mentioned above also did the trick.

These things have such a life of their own and spread like crazy. I'm lucky in that they have all pretty much disappeared, however this only happened after I started getting rid of each one (however small) as they popped up.

Just keep your hands washed and wear a pair of gloves when popping them.

Hope this helps some of you. Best of luck to getting rid of these things. I had never even heard about them and it was quite an ordeal. I'm just hoping they don't return.

Justin

p.s. I tried zymaderm and this did not work for me. It also burned my skin. I know some folks have great success with this, however my skin did not tolerate that product.

[livingfancy]

Hello all, first time posting on this forum, just wanted to share my molluscum experience, since reading other's stories was a comfort to me while I was suffering through this very annoying experience.
I first noticed three raised bumps on my pubis area a few months ago and went to the doctor to have it checked out. I undoubtedly got it from a sexual partner, although I've no clue, as the two girls I was sleeping with ardently deny having any symptoms, which leaves me a bit baffled. the doctor seemed unsure about it, ran a herpes test which came back negative and then we left it alone for a while. I returned back a couple weeks later because it was spreading (the spreading happened the morning after I tried a night of ACV treatment, incidentally) the doctor then referred me to a dermatologist who confirmed my beliefs that I had molluscum. Then I got the pleasure of cryotherapy which left me with a dozen or so unseemly blisters. The next week or so I watched as the virus spread and more bumps began to appear and spread, so I scheduled another appointment at the dermatologists and got more of them frozen off. The day after this I saw that they were still spreading, and to places I had hoped they would not spread(penis, thighs). Not wanting to return to the dermatologist as I absolutely detested the idea of a huge blister on my penis, I started looking for alternatives. the one that caught my eye was lemon myrtle essential oil, I was very interested after I read the study linking it to 90% recovery rate. I did however note that the study was done on children, who contract MCV-1, and I had the STD form MCV-2, so I wasn't sure if there was going to be a difference in results... desperate for an alternative though, I ordered a bottle from a local supplier (hooray for austin texas) and waited as I watched the bumps spread and grow larger. Then something amazing happened! The lemon myrtle showed up and I noticed results after ONE NIGHT of treatment. smaller bumps disappeared and the larger ones dramatically reduced in size. A week or so after irregular nightly treatments, and I am cautiously proclaiming myself cured. Sources recommend a 10% dilution, however I started with a 25% and worked my way up to 33% by the second night. It burns a bit with that concentration, and I can imagine how some with more sensitive skin would find it unpleasant, but it was manageable and the higher concentrations are probably more effective. So I guess to wrap it all up, lemon myrtle essential oil was amazingly effective for me. Cryotherapy was rubbish and I sincerely hope my frozen skins heals and doesn't leave scars, although it appears that I may be left with faint ones. I really wish I had held off on the gungho freezing treatment and tried a less aggressive treatment first... Oh well, I am just happy to be recovering. To those still afflicted, give lemon myrtle a try, and keep up your hope, you will win against this nuisance in the end
Ohhh and I also started drinking hellacious amounts of green tea a few days before I started the lemon myrtle treatment, I have no idea if there's a connection in my recovery, but I never underestimate the medicinal qualities of tea...

[Dumah]

Hello all, as with previous posts i wanted to share my story, i have been through the mill with this thing but have finally managed to get rid of it, took approx 6 months before i suceeded though. as per previous posts it seems to be trial and error to find out what actually works for you. I tried apple cidre vinegar and it did clear up the larger ones but it always burnt and broke the skin and it spreads through broken skin, took me awhile to suss that out so i started treating each molluscum individually with apple cidre vinegar and left the skin to heal between applications, however i could never fully eliminate it as it continually came back. How i eventually beat it was by killing the large ones with apple cidre vinegar and after the skin healed using benzoyl peroxide over all infected areas of skin. What i used and im not advocating it but it worked for me is Panoxyl acnegel 10, it contains 10% benzoyl peroxide, i have used it to treat minor acne and i came across it as a treatment on another site, you have to be careful with it though, over doing it will irritate the skin, i applied it once every morning, twice  a day seems to make the skin irritated. I have been clear a few months now and each week i still apply some, i suppose just incase. anyways thats my story, it can be hard to deal with but my advice would be dont rush into it treating it with harsh treatments, try a few things until you find something what works for you and be prepared to have to wait awhile to get rid of it, at least a few months anyways, oh almost forgot be careful when showering and bathing it can spread them like mad.