About six weeks ago I noticed a rash on Number 6’s arm and stomach
It wasn’t poison ivy, and it wasn’t excema — I know what those look like.
But it was odd enough and pervasive enough that I took him to the doctor.
A couple years ago Number 7 had impetigo, and that shit is contagious, so I wanted to make sure it wasn’t that or at least take care of it before he gave it to everyone else.
A couple hours later as we left the doctor’s office I found myself wishing Number 6 had impetigo.
When the doctor came into the room, he asked Number 6 why he was there.
“I have a rash,” he told the doctor.
“How long have you had it for?” the doctor asked him.
“A few months,” Number 6 said.
A few months?
Surely Number 6 was confused.
I would have noticed a rash that was there for months. Right? How could he have had this for months and I was just noticing it now?
“I don’t think it’s been months,” I said.
“YES IT HAS, MOMMY — THE BUMPS HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG TIME.” he insisted. Loudly.
The doctor took a closer look at him.
“Is is impetigo?” I asked.
“No,” said the doctor.
“Phew,” I said to him.
“It’s molluscum contagiosum,” he told me.
“F&$K,” I said to myself.
Because there is no medication you can take to get rid of it. There is no vaccine or cure.
Actually, that’s not true. There is a cure. You can go to a dermatologist who either freezes or scrapes each bump off. But those treatments can be uncomfortable or even painful. Especially for kids. Plus they can discolor your skin or leave scars.
And Number 6 has quite a few of them. Like more than fifty. They are on both arms and on the right side of his stomach and chest.
This is not our first experience with molluscum.
Number 4 had it a few years ago.
Fortunately it was contained to a small area in the bend of her elbow.
Also fortunately, Number 4 has an insane tolerance for pain.
So we took her to see a dermatologist who froze that stuff right off her arm and it was gone forever the next day.
We did that because molluscum can take anywhere from six months to four years to go away, it’s contagious the whole time you have it, and unlike poison ivy, you can spread to other areas of your body by scratching it. Plus it also just looks gross.
And Number 4 can handle a little pain.
Number 6, on the other hand, is the kid who is screaming in agony when you have to remove a splinter from his body. He wails, cries, and carries on with the same intensity whether he’s got a hangnail or he’s been dismembered.
So we have been trying at home remedies.
We have tried various brands of Tea Tree oil.
They all burned his skin when I put it on and resulted in hysterics.
After that I didn’t even attempt the apple cider vinegar treatment which many people swear by.
A friend told me liquid bandage worked miracles for her. Two weeks of that when her son had it and it was gone.
We tried that, but it also burned his skin when I put it on and resulted in hysterics and something along the lines of:
NEVER. TOUCH. ME AGAAAAAAAAAIIIINNNNN.
A friend gave me ZymaDerm which is a liquid that smells just like tea tree oil (it’s probably just diluted or something), and that doesn’t hurt, but you are supposed to apply it twice a day.
And to be completely honest, I barely make sure my kids brush their teeth twice a day, and the painstakingly monotonous routine of covering all those goddamn bumps every morning and every night has just been too much for me to do consistently. So who the hell knows if that works.
At this point I don’t even care anymore.
I went from a crazed lunatic constantly trying to make sure he didn’t touch anyone or share towels or washcloths (oh yeah, because you can also totally get it from someone’s dirty towel,) to no longer really giving a flying f*ck.
If they all get it, they all get it.
At least a couple of them are tough enough to handle the dermatologist freezing that shit off if they need to.
The rest of them will just have to endure the bumps if they get them.
Plus, it doesn’t bother Number 6. The warts — YES THEY ARE TECHNICALLY WARTS — don’t hurt and they don’t itch.
In fact he now affectionately and protectively and punitively refers to them as “my molluscum.”
But Mommy! My molluscum! What about my molluscum?
or
MOMMMMMYYYYYY! SHE BUMPED INTO MY MOLLUSCUM AND NOW IT’S GOING TO POP!
or
*chases sister* IF YOU DON’T GIVE THAT BACK TO ME I’M GOING TO RUB MY MOLLUSCUM ALL OVER YOU.
Number 6’s molluscum has officially become our eighth child.
If you don’t want an extra wart-child for the next four months to four years, you might want to consider having a little talk with your kids about letting you know if they see any bumps on their skin that didn’t used to be there, and then maybe you can get rid of them before they multiply like rabbits all over your kid’s body.
Or you can just welcome them to the family.
The doors to The Village are open through Friday, May 8th. I’ll help you implement changes in your house the same way I did in mine.
My middle son who is now 15, had mulluscum on his neck, chest and stomach and we just said fuck it too since they didn’t bother him and he is also the kid that will scream like he is dying if he stubs his toe. Luckily the other two didn’t have any issues with it but it did take YEARS to go away but he has no scars either. So good for you mama for doing what is right for your family!!!
Coconut oil worked for my kids!
Great attitude Mom. It is what it is. They will all grow to adulthood regardless.
Did you mean to say “there is vaccine or cure” or should it have read “there is NO vaccine or cure’? Because if there is a vaccine, I want to know about it…
I meant to say “no” — thanks for the heads up — I fixed it 🙂
My daughter had that on and off for a few years when she was a gymnast. We used Melaleuca oil and gel. It did help from it spreading and it would disappear for periods of time. I never took her to have it frozen or scraped. It eventually did go away on her own and no one in the house ever did get it.
Melaleuca is only sold by that company and you have to be a member to get it. If you want to give it a try I will get some on my next order and send it to you. Just Message me.
You can read about their company Melaleuca.com. It’s an all natural company.
Melaleuca oil is just another name for tea tree oil, you can get it lots of places.
Just a side note- we literally tried EVERYTHING in the entire world for my daughter when she had this and the ZymaDerm totally worked. No pain, no burning….
Zymaderm does work but like you said, you have to put it on twice a day for 2-3 weeks.
Both my boys had it, We went to our dermatologist who we lovingly refer to as the nutty professor and he put this stuff on it that he called beetle bug juice. I still don’t know what it is but they scabbed over and were gone after one application. We had another dermatologist try to insist we let her burn them off and I told her to pound sand! I was pissed, my son was 3!
Our dermatologist used beetle bug juice too. Seemed pretty painless overall. We had to go back for a couple of treatments but eventually she got them all! Good luck!
Yes! Same here! My daughter had a “wart” behind a knee a year or so ago. Our dermatologist also used “beetle juice” to remove it!
Our dermatologist also used beetlebug juice on two of my sons. Took several treatments, but it took care of them!
My doctor told us to “attack” one and the others would follow. We put a small amount of retin a on one and covered it with a bandaid for 2 weeks and it was burned off. The others did eventually go away.
There is a cure. Zovirax or Acyclovir cream. The doctors won’t acknowledge it. It saved our existence. The pills help some but the cream cures.
MolluscumRx worked for my little one!
My 7 1/2 yo daughter has had this for 6 months now! She was treated with beetle juice and was in terrible pain for days after! We are now trying potassium hydroxide on the numerous new lesions. she says it burns on the big spots behind her knees. I give up! It will just have to run it’s course! Her twin brother is terrified he will get it from her.
Yes molluscum cantagiosum is a nightmare!!! Tried the pieces of cotton balls dipped in apple cider, then covered in duct tape. It was so painful for my little one he was always in tears.
Eventually, Apple cider baths (1 cup of apple cider in bath) soaked for 20-30min. Then 1 drop of tea tree oil in a dollop of coconut oil rubbed all over his body got rid of it within two weeks. I realized the tea tree oil directly to the skin is to painful. So mixed into coconut oil was just like putting lotion on him every night.
More power to you with all your kids infecting and reinfecting one another! I don’t know how you do it!! I only have one. Wish you the best!
http://www.harlowsearth.com/blog/ugh-molluscum-contagiosum-sigh-how-to-get-rid-of-it-naturally/
First and foremost, I want to stress I’m not a doctor and before using my advice please consult a doctor to make sure it is safe for children and adults.
I have recently become a fan of DoTerra oils so when my girlfriend called me to tell me one of her daughters had caught molloscum, I started to do some research and try to come up with a mixture of oils that I thought would help.
This is what I used:
Fractionated coconut oil – must use a carrier oil (can be jojoba or grape seed) for safety so you don’t burn the skin
Arborvitae – used to fight viruses
Frankincense – used for skin imperfections and to boost the immune system
On Guard – immune boosting
Melaleuca – used for skin imperfections/breakouts
I also suggested a probiotic face cream (Gallinee is one I like) but wasn’t sure what would be safe for a child so do some research – she told me the oils worked better if she used a moisturizer first.
It took awhile for the bumps to completely disappear, but they started decreasing in size (either coming to a head or vanishing) within the first week of 2/day treatment. Full disappearance happened with all bumps within 2-3 months.
I actually recently bought a starter kit and loved it so much I decided to start selling DoTerra. If you would like more information on what to use, I can be reached at:
Michelelynn0715@gmail.com
I want to stress that I’m not posting this b/c I’m trying to make money. My friend was in tears after trying several different methods to rid her daughter of these horrible bumps. I was a licensed esthetician and that’s why she asked me if I had any advice on what could work for her skin. She had tried beetlejuice/freezing and both didn’t work and hurt/scarred her daughter. I was so happy when she said the bumps were getting smaller and final disappearing that I felt a need to share her experience.
Please feel free to email me for more specifics or to figure out what products to purchase. I’m here to help!
My daughter had this in both inner thighs and under side of arm.
I used witch hazel and it worked amazingly!! Dried it up and when the head parts were dried up we exfoliated them and applied more witch hazel and bam
It never came back!!!
How long did it take for the witch hazel to clear it up?