How We Stopped Molluscum Contagiosum
The molluscum contagiosum virus is nonsense. Straight up complete nonsense. It is itchy and irritating and not fun for a toddler to experience. While there are various assumptions about how it is spread, there is mostly two main theories, but neither of them help when it comes to getting rid of it.
It is estimated that over 6 millions Americans now have molluscum contagiosum and that number seems to be growing.
These Mollusca pop, get sore, scab – rinse and repeat. When they pop they help it spread. While the CDC says it can take months to FOUR years to resolve itself, that feels like an eternity for an itchy and uncomfortable toddler.
How do we know? Our kiddo got it!
We Went to the Pediatrician
When we first noticed these weird itchy raised whitish pink bumps on our daughter, we immediately made an appointment to see our pediatrician. No surprise – he didn’t even know what they were. We immediately made an appointment to see the dermatologist – it was a TWO MONTH wait. The fact that there are so many people with skin conditions requiring a dermatologist is another whole topic in and of itself. We didn’t know what to Google so we just started researching. After two months we had an idea, but wanted confirmation.
We Went to the Dermatologist
We waited our two months to see the Dermatologist and they confirmed it was molluscum contagiosum. Our options? Wait and see if it would go away on its own (could be 6 months to 4 YEARS) or put this cream on it that would burn her skin, create painful scabs and would most likely scar. Oh, and it didn’t have any guarantees.
We decided to walk away without any treatment and continue research now that we had a confirmation of what it was. We tried a few things suggested in various posts – special soap, some kind of liquid in a jar with a brush, etc. but nothing worked. If anything we felt like maybe it was making it worse.
What Finally Worked to Finish Off Molluscum Contagiosum
One of the blog posts we came across recommended tea tree oil with a carrier oil. We decided to give it a try.
We used tea tree and coconut oil every night for about two months and watched as one little bubble after the other began to disappear.
I am not an oil expert. AT ALL. I am trying to learn and am more familiar with homeopathy. BUT, when a remedy is needed, I go with what others has said works and consult the books I have collected on the subject.
How To Prevent Molluscum Contagiosum
While there is a lot of speculation about how Molluscum Contagiosum is spreading, there are a few things you can do to prevent it. I have to add that the most popular place (so we’re told) to get it is at preschools where it seems to spread from person to person without much chance of stopping it. Our daughter was not in preschool or daycare when she developed it. Knowing this, our dermatologist said it was most likely that she got it off of a shopping cart (um, ew!). I am going to admit right here that we used shopping cart covers, but didn’t use them every time we went into the store. Considering our daughter got them on the backs of her knees, it is highly likely that she got it from a child who had the sores and smeared the virus on the seat from their legs while they were riding in the cart.
CART COVERS
Something like this will help protect your kiddo in shopping carts. But, as you can see below, it doesn’t really help with those spots where the legs would rub.
After going what we went through with our daughters legs, we still use this even though we don’t get the coverage we really want. At this point we feel like something is better than nothing.
LEGGINGS
We try to put leggings on our kiddos when we’re heading somewhere that might require a shopping cart ride. Even capri leggings that cover the back of her knees and stop at the ankle is better than nothing.
WASH WITH SOAP
As soon as we get in from being anywhere out and about, we wash any body part that touched anything. Clothing is changed and we get on with our day.
Conclusion
Molluscum is horrible for kids. It’s itchy, uncomfortable and all together not fun for the entire family. It’s embarrassing, hard to explain and has an odd appearance that catches attention. BUT, there is a solution that has worked for our kiddo and we hope will work for yours. There are options out there aside from those that burn skin and have the potential to leave scars.
PLEASE NOTE::::::
WE DO NOT DISPENSE MEDICAL ADVICE. WE ARE ONLY DISCLOSING WHAT WORKED FOR US. PLEASE SEEK YOUR OWN MEDICAL ADVICE BEFORE DOING ANYTHING YOU READ ON THIS BLOG.
