Molluscum contagiosum- any success stories? Happy update p. 2

[emer95]

My poor daughter. She's almost 13 and we've been battling this since January. She has them all over one side of her stomach, on the backs of her thighs, and inside her arms. She has had them frozen 3 times, but they almost seem worse. At an age where she's so self conscious about everything anyway, this is really hard on her. I know they can take up to a year to go away. She seems to have a very aggressive case. Any advice from people who've lived through it?
Thanks!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Many years back. Doc burned it off. Most stayed away. Couple spots required a second burn. Clear ever since.

 

[ellemenohpee]

I wish I had a positive response for you. Our DS5 finally just cleared up and it took about a year. He had them on the backs of his knees and thighs and there were just too many to burn, freeze or otherwise remove. When they got really irritated, we would do oatmeal baths or an ointment. It was a long wait

I hope your daughter's go away soon.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

My DS10 had this about a year ago. He had a pretty bad case all over the inside of his thighs, groin area, a few further down his legs. Unfortunately, most of it was in places that I wouldn't see since I'm not in the room when he showers or dresses anymore. It wasn't until I saw the few further down his legs that I asked about it and he showed me all of them.

We went to his pediatrician and it was diagnosed. We called immediately for a derm appt, but had to wait a few weeks for the appt. In the meantime, the pedi told us to use tea tree oil on them. Just a few drops on an already wet cloth and then dab at the spots. We did this a couple times a day until we got to the derm.

The derm doctor opted for doing the frozen nitro(?) treatments where he zapped them all with the spray can thing.

Within a few weeks he was totally clear! I don't know which of the treatments worked so well--or if it was a combination--but he hasn't had any problems since.

So, yes, there is hope out there! Best of luck to you!

 

[Mom21]

My dd got it when she was 4 around her eye. One was on the lower inner eye lid. It grew quickly and dr said it may impact her sight. He said burning them does no good as the "seed" is underneath that. So we put her to sleep (scary scary for a mommy. I cried as much as she did.) and he cut them off. She had some scars but they were small and now you don't notice them. She does have a small spot when he did a V cut that no lashes grow and one that was in her eyebrow where no hair grows, but really not a big deal. She does have one scar that is larger than the others, but it isn't very noticable unless you are studying her face. Of course, she is 16 now, but you would never know. Basically, freezing doesn't really always work. I would think at your dd's age and the location, they could do it under local anesthesia. At age 4 and with them around the eye it wasn't an option. She'll have a few stitches, but really not many. I think dd had 1 per site if it was a large one. zfor others she had none.

I will say that because it was on my dd's face we got one of the best child plastic surgeons in South Florida. He was amazing. He took children that was horrifically disfigured, and you would never know it after surgery. I always got teary eyed in the waiting room. I know my dd's issue was no where near as important, but he took her case so we were happy with the results.

 

[Briarmom]

Both of my children have had them at very different times (dd did not catch them from ds). Ds had them for over a year. They were on his neck. I finally got him in to see a derm and he put some very harsh stuff on him (he called it beetle juice, I'm not kidding) and that irritated some of them enough to make them go away. For the rest, I had to put genital wart cream on him for quite some time. This was over a decade ago so I'm a little fuzzy on details...

Anyway, for dd, she had them in her elbow crease a couple of years ago, and as soon as I saw them I knew all too well what they were. I bought some medicine I found online. It totally worked. In fact, I saw them on another kid about a year after that and gave it to his dad who had no idea what I was talking about and it cleared his up, too.

I think zymaderm? It's on Amazon.com.

Good luck!

PS: They *both* have several pockmarks from the molluscum.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

I had them about 30 years ago as a tween, and my doctor had me put Compound W (the liquid kind) on them. They turned white and dried up. After four or five days, I was able to pull them off, root and all. It did take a couple of months to get rid of them all, though, as new ones kept appearing as quickly as I got rid of the old ones!

 

[dec2901]

My 2 1/2 year old has had this for about 4 months now. It is on his inner thighs and a couple of spots on his arms. The doctors have told us just to leave them alone and cover them with band aids if they are not covered with clothing. We did the band aid thing for a while but it was irritating his poor skin. I will be so happy when they are gone. Good luck!

 

[kacaju]

my now 13 year old dd had them about 5 years ago or so. We got some kind of cream from the derm. They froze a few off. They took a while to finally go away

 

[Schmeck]

I finally got him in to see a derm and he put some very harsh stuff on him (he called it beetle juice, I'm not kidding) and that irritated some of them enough to make them go away.

cantharidin (Cantharone, obtained from the blister beetle)

 

[indimom]

We ran through this when my kids (and a couple nieces and nephews and one day care family ) were preschoolers. It sucks, and it can last a long time. A couple different doctors involved in all these cases and since we were all dealing with it, the parents shared what each doctor said. The VAST majority said to leave it alone and let it pass. Only two treated (one with freezing and one with a blister beetle solution.

My only advice: don't use the "blister beetle" solution. I don't remember the exact name, but it comes from a beetle and causes the molluscum to blister over and slough off after a couple days. But, it will cause permanent pock marks on their skin. I used it for my son because the combination of molluscum and his eczema was becoming a major issue. It worked, but it was painful, took several treatments (because new spots would pop up and we would have to treat those), and did leave permanent marks (we were warned it would). I don't think your daughter would be happy with those scars. The molluscum eventually went away on every other child who just left it alone and there are no scars.

One other word of warning. My daughter had it under one arm (pretty mild compared to our son) and it went away, then actually recurred about a year later for a short time, and hasn't been back since. Seems like most cases only happen once. I'm guessing hers came back only because the first case was so mild, but wanted to warn you it wasn't impossible.

I feel for your daughter, 13 is a terrible time to be dealing with this. I have heard the over-the-counter tea tree stuff recommened (on the Dis) before and it seems to be fairly successful. Might be worth a shot.

 

[soccerchick]

My son had a case when he was about 4. Luckily his took about 6 months exactly to go away. Dr told us the virus can last from 6 months to 18 months.

Our pediatrician was adamant about not using any drugs (I think a skin cancer drug is often used to treat this though it is not its intended use - something with an "A"). He also did not want to burn them b/c he said it wouldn't make them go away any faster and might scar- the virus had to run its course. He said he might "burn" them if they spread to the face. I was ticked, since I wanted them gone.

Anyway, we started putting medical tape on the ones on his arms that people could see and on the big ones on his side and back. This seemed to make them angry and blister up more and then dry up.

Good luck! I hope they go away soon.

 

[mickeyboat]

DD12 had them on her neck and it took over a year for them to go away. DD13 got them on her face, and it took over a year to go away. Our pediatrician recommended letting them clear on their own, and they did, without scarring.

 

[Gina]

I'll second the tea tree oil suggestion. The "main" lesion was cut off and biopsied first because DS is at an elevated risk for skin cancer, but a few very small bumps popped up after that. I dabbed tea tree oil on twice a day, and they were soon gone.

I also instructed him to NOT scratch them, at all costs, and relayed the story I had found in my research about another teen who did scratch, and spread it to, um, unfortunate areas... LOL. DS did not scratch after that.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I had it for over FIVE YEARS. Im not even sure if its completely gone? But my case is pretty mild. I got my Dr to burn them off with nitro but that doesnt work well since it would always come back after 6 months. I havent seen them in a while so I hope its gone for good. If not, I will try the tree oil.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

It's a curse!
Two of my children had it. On one it was just
on the leg. We tried at-home remedies (tea tree
oil, zymaderm). Nothing helped. The pediatrician said it would go away on its own in a year. It lasted 2.5 years. But didn't get bad and was always hidden under clothing so kid preferred to just let it heal itself.

Other kid had it on his face so it really had to be treated, and carefully. The pediatrician tried some kind of cream, I can't remember what it was but it did nothing. The dermatologist then prescribed oral cimetidine and tazorac cream. This combo did the trick pretty fast. The dermatologist said this combo helps the body recognize the virus and fight it off. The bumps got angry red and then suddenly they were all gone.
The dermatologist said that different things work for different people.

 

[tmarquez]

cantharidin (Cantharone, obtained from the blister beetle)

This is what they used on my DD. She had them on the side of her stomach, a few random ones on her legs. It left white scars for a long time but it's been a year now and they are almost invisible.

It worked great and didn't hurt at all.

 

[lsyorke]

This is what they used on my DD. She had them on the side of her stomach, a few random ones on her legs. It left white scars for a long time but it's been a year now and they are almost invisible.

It worked great and didn't hurt at all.

Works like a charm!

 

[vettechick99]

Go to amazon right now or a nearby health food store. Buy a bottle of 30c thuja. It's miraculous!!! I will post before and afters. My DD2 had 60+ all over her arms and chest in February and now has none. It's amazing.

 

[vettechick99]

Ok, so she had the Molluscum contagiosum all over her right arm and right chest. Here is before (February, top left), and after 2 weeks (top right), and then after 4 weeks (next pic under). As you can see, the warts got angry and red and she said they hurt and itched.

I took these last two pics today (June, 4 months later).

Seriously nothing short of amazing. She has a few light scars where some were that she scratched. They will probably fade eventually. A bottle only costs about $6-7 and 1-2 bottles should take care of it. Link to Thuja on amazon.

Makes me wonder what other homeopathic remedies might also be this amazing!