When our daughter was 8-months we noticed tiny little bumps on her legs. At first, we thought it was a little rash and it would go away. Our pediatrician even thought so and gave us steroid cream. But, when it didn’t go away, we ended up getting referred to a dermatologist.
Molluscum Contagiosum is said to be in the pox family and although it sounds scary, it’s quite common in babies, toddlers, and kids. They kind of look like little pimples on the skin. At the time, Ariabella was playing at the playground and crawling on the stairs in shorts, but we are not 100% sure if she got contracted this way. But ever since then we’ve made sure to cover her legs to avoid both questions about the bumps and to also avoid spreading it to other kids.
If you notice bumps on your child’s legs, arms, or other parts of the body talk to your doctor. Molluscum Contagiosum can spread through active touching, but once undergoing treatment it’s preferable to cover the area. Our daughter wears pants now everyday, and we’ve noticed her thighs have healed nicely. There are a few couple of ways pediatricians and dermatologists treat Molluscum Contagiosum.
Molluscum Contagiosum Treatment:
- Beetle Juice (otherwise medically called Cantharidin) treats Molluscum Contagiosum, however it does cause blistering. Also, with Cantharidin, you have to make an appointment and get treated at the doctor’s office. You can’t take the medication home with you. So, this a pain because it takes several rounds of treatment.
- Retin-A is the less-invasive treatment however it is slower as far as working.
- Laser Therapy– usually for older kids.
- Cyrotherapy– freezing with liquid nitrogen.
Our dermatologist suggested we begin with Cantharidin (beetle juice) after other topical options didn’t work. Of course, the topical options were more for rashes. Molluscum Contagiosum isn’t a rash, but it can look like one. So, doctors can often misdiagnose the condition.
Molluscum Contagiosum Takes Several Months To Cure
After two rounds of beetle juice treatments, we were prescribed Retin-A .025 mg. It did make her skin dry and a little itchy, but it worked. We didn’t like the fact that our daughter’s skin blistered up from the beetle juice. Still, you have to do what you have to do to treat Molluscum Contagiosum. Getting rid of it is a stubborn and long road.
We’re fortunate to have great doctors that were able to diagnose and treat it. Yet, it did take nearly year for our daughter’s Molluscum Contagiosum to finally go away.
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