The reason molluscum is called water warts is because molluscum is most commonly spread in swimming pools and shared tubs such as hot tubs.
The bumps with molluscum are mostly painless although can be itchy and can last up to 2 years.
Children age 1 to 10 years of age are most likely to get molluscum and people who have unprotected sex.
However molluscum is most common in children between the ages of 1 year to 10 years as it's not always a sexually transmitted infection.
You can put antibiotic cream on molluscum and it will help with the itchiness and help the healing of the molluscum.
You can scrape off molluscum but doing so yourself could cause a bacterial infection on the skin and even cause the molluscum virus to spread to other areas of the body.
Tea tree oil that is diluted with a carrier oil or even a combination of Australian lemon myrtle oil and benzoyl peroxide or a tea tree oil and iodine combination can help treat molluscum.
You can remove the core of molluscum through cryotherapy which freezes it with liquid nitrogen or through laser therapy or curettage which is the piercing of the core of the molluscum and scraping of the caseous or cheesy material.
You can stop molluscum from spreading by washing the area with soap and water often and by applying some cream such as Neosporin or Cerave cream or Cetaphil.
You can put Neosporin on molluscum contagiosum which will help heal the molluscum contagiosum when applied 2 to 3 times a day.
Hydrocortisone cream will also work on molluscum when applied daily for 1 to 2 weeks.
The best cream for molluscum contagiosum is Ycanth cream that is applied topically by your doctor.
Most cases of molluscum contagiosum will go away on their own.
The skin lesions for molluscum contagiosum may go through three stages, which include: The first stage is a small whitish and/or reddish bump on the skin.
Over a few weeks, the bumps can enlarge to about 2-5 mm with a whitish pus head that develops into a small crater when it bursts.
Molluscum bumps look like small, raised and usually white or pink or even fleshed colored with a pit or dimple in the center.
Molluscum bumps often have a pearly appearance and they are usually firm and smooth.
Molluscum contagiosum is an STI or sexually transmitted infection in adults and can spread during sex through skin to skin contact.
Molluscum is spread through skin to skin contact, contact with infected objects such as wrestling mats, kickboards and towels and swimming in pools or soaking in hot tubs that are contaminated with the virus that causes molluscum.
Molluscum contagiosum is an infection caused by a poxvirus (molluscum contagiosum virus).
The result of the infection is usually a benign, mild skin disease characterized by lesions (growths) that may appear anywhere on the body.
The two types of molluscum are MCV-1 and MCV-2.
MCV-1 (98% of cases) is mostly seen in children, while MCV-2 is mainly responsible for skin lesions in people living with HIV.
Molluscum is not a form of HPV as molluscum contagiosum is caused by a virus from the poxvirus family which is different from the human papilloma virus or HPV family which causes warts.
These two conditions are commonly discussed together and can sometimes be confused for one another as they are both contagious viral diseases that cause skin lesions.
Molluscum contagiosum is an infection caused by a poxvirus (molluscum contagiosum virus).
The result of the molluscum contagiosum infection is usually a benign, mild skin disease characterized by lesions (growths) that may appear anywhere on the body.
The virus that causes molluscum contagiosum spreads easily through: Skin-to-skin contact. Contact with infected objects, such as towels, kickboards and wrestling mats.
Swimming in pools or hot tubs contaminated with the virus.
When applied by a dermatologist, cantharidin is a safe and effective treatment for molluscum.
It's often used to treat young children because it is painless when applied.
If you try to remove the bumps on your own or squeeze out the fluid inside, you risk spreading the virus to other parts of your body.
Keep the bumps clean and wash your hands after touching the molluscum.
Washing your hands helps to remove the virus from your skin so that you don't spread the virus to other areas.
Four subtypes of the molluscum contagiosum virus are known, and the are MCV-1 (98% of cases) is mostly seen in children, while MCV-2 is mainly responsible for skin lesions in people living with HIV.
MCV-3 and MCV-4 are present in Asia and Australia.
FDA has approved Ycanth (cantharidin) for the topical (used on the skin) treatment of molluscum contagiosum in adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older.
Ycanth is the first FDA-approved treatment for molluscum.
Ycanth is administered to patients only by health care providers.