What is Molluscum and what are its different methods of treatment?

Molluscum is a common skin disease that is caused due to a virus infection. Scientifically known as Molluscum contagiosum, it is a contagious disease that can easily spread from one person to the other through contact. Although it is a harmless condition, but causes some ungainly bumps of the skin and it is best to get Molluscum treatedas soon as possible.

The Molluscum virus, when it infects the skin, produces bumps or raised legion on the skin which are benign and painless. These bumps general go away on their own and in most cases do not leave any permanent mark on the skin. Without proper treatment of molluscum, however these bumps can last as long as 4 years and this is not an acceptable situation for most people.

How Does Molluscum Spread And Who Are Most Prone To It? : This viral infection is contagious. One legion on the body can spread to other parts of the body by simply touching. It very easily spreads from one person to person through:

• Actual touching of the lesion
• During contact sports like football, wrestling etc with an infected person
• During sexual contact
• Sharing clothes, towels and personal affect items with an infected person

Children in the age group of 1 -10 years and sportspersons are more prone to getting infected as they come in bodily contact with others. People who have a weak immune system, some pre-existing skin condition or organ malfunction also get easily infected easily. The spread of Molluscum is predominant in tropical climate.

Symptoms: Bumps are the only symptoms of Molluscum infection. Sometimes bumps may not appear for even 6 months after the infection, during which time period the person infected is not even aware of it. On an average it takes about 6-7 weeks for the bumps to make an appearance and this is when the person will start looking for treatment for molluscum.

The density of these bumps also differs from person to person. These small, shiny bumps are 2-5mm in diameter and are filled with waxy pus like material.

Treatment: Although in most cases the bumps go away without treatment but getting a treatment for the condition is recommended. Dermatologists prescribe different treatments depending on the health, age and the affected area of the patient. Based on these, one of the following treatment methods is followed:

• Cryosurgery: Liquid nitrogen is used in this treatment method and the bumps are frozen with its application directly on the bump.
• Curettage: In this method of treatment a small curette tool is used to scrape away the bumps.
• Laser Treatment: This is one of the most commonly used treatments on patients who have Molluscum due to weak immune system. In this method laser is used on the individual bump to destroy it.
• Topical Treatment: In this kind of treatment some acids or blistering agents are applied on the bump. These destroy the bumps along with the top affected layer of the area. In case the patient has Molluscum due to weak immune system, then the acid Tricholoracetic acid is used.

In addition to one of the above treatment procedure, the dermatologists will also prescribe medicines like Imiquimod and Retinoid. These are antiviral creams that will have to be applied on the skin to increase the immunity from further viral infection.

In most case the bumps will completely clear away within 2 months of treatment and no further bumps will appear for a long time. Some people have a tendency to get repeatedly infected and may have to go through the treatment procedures again when the bumps make reappearance.

How to Cure and prevent the most Contagious Disease Molluscum Contagiosum?

Molluscum Contagiosum is a viral infection which is generally seen on skin or sometimes of mucous membranes, often called water warts. Physicians say it is occurred due to DNA poxvirus often called Molluscum Contagiosum virus. It is not seen in non-human or other animals, but affects only humans. There are different sub-types Molluscum Contagiosum but the relative infectivity of the different strains is unclear. It is a contagious skin disease spreading by casual contact from child to child. The virus is spread from individual to individual by touching the affected area of skin; it can also be spread by touching the affected area or by using clothes, or toys.

Signs and Symptoms of Molluscum Contagiosum

This viral skin disease is mostly seen in children, adults who are sexually active and the persons who are immune-deficient. This skin infection is generally occurred between one to ten years old children. The disease can be affected any areas of skin like body trunk, arms, groin and or legs. An infected person remains contagious until the bumps are no longer visible. If an individual is affected by this skin disease, if he or she does not consult with a doctor, it can remain up to four years.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Molluscum Contagiosum

Generally the treatment is started after the proper diagnosis by a skin specialist or a qualified doctor and is made by examination. Sometimes a skin biopsy may be required as molluscum can look like eczema or atopy in its early stages. Some of the important treatments for Molluscum Contagiosum are implemented by medical experts are:

• Cryotherapy – This is a kind of liquid nitrogen utilized to freeze the skin bump.
• Curettage – This is small tool utilized to pierce the bump on skin as well as scrape from the skin.
• Laser Therapy – This therapy is utilized to treat the bump.
• Topical Therapy – Molluscum Contagiosum cream which contain acids and or chemicals are generally applied to the bumps to instigate peeling of the surface of the skin.

Medicine for Molluscum Contagiosum

Medicines or medications are generally applied according to the condition and age of the patient. Severe chemicals are applied on the area of the skin or on the surface of Molluscum for destructing successive layers of skin which combines potassium hydrochloride as well as canthardin. Newer studies have shown that a  Molluscum Contagiosum Cream containing a combination of essential oils and iodine is a painless treatment option with a high success rate.

One Must Be Analytical While Choosing Medicine for Molluscum Contagiosum

Molluscum contagiosum is a skin infection where small flesh-colored bumps appear on the affected skin. The infection is caused by virus and spreads through close contact. The virus is easily spread and affects any part of the body except palms and soles of the feet. The bumps appear single initially and at an advanced stage the bumps appear in groups. There is no good prescription treatment to and the general recommendation is to let the condition run its course, but that may take several years. The children should not be surgically treated for the bumps as that can be painful.

 

Treating Molluscum Contagiosum with Homeopathy:

Homeopathy is an effective treatment for viral infections like Molluscum contagiosum.  But the medicines must be chosen on the basis of individual symptoms and the nature of bumps. One can undergo Homeopathy for treating this viral disease but that can take longer time comparably.

Some of the Homeopathic Medicine is helping this viral disease getting treated with perfection. Thuja occidentalis, Dulcamara, Silica, and Natrum Muriaticum are some of the medicines that take care of the bumps as well as the infection. Even severe stage of Molluscum contagiosum can be treated easily with Homeopathy treatment.

Homeopathic treatments are always the safest way of treatment. Though it is slower in responding to the infection but it treats well and roots out the disease.

Allopathic Medicine for Molluscum Contagiosum:

Mostly the Allopathic medicines for Molluscum contagiosum stimulate the immune system that breaks the cells of the infected area. There are different allopathic medicines which work differently to treat MC. Generally the medicines come in the form of creams. These are recommended to be applied on the skin after washing and cleaning the skin.

Some of the medicinal creams are Potassium hydroxide, Podophyllotoxin and Benzoyl peroxide. These are generally available in the form of gel or liquid. These creams can be used to treat the infection of the affected skin-area. These should be used with the proper advice of a health practitioner.  Every kind of Allopathic medicine has different dosage of usage. While some are recommended for weekly uses, some creams can be applied twice in a day.

It is always safe to use these medicines with clinical advice as these are all chemicals and contain some bleaching agent too. Using these with proper care saves from other harmful effects. One must clean one’s hand after using the medicine so that the contaminated hands do not touch any healthy part of the skin.

Choosing The Suitable Medicine Needs One To Be A Little Analytical:

One can undergo the Homeopathic treatment or allopathic treatment.  Choosing the treatment needs one to be a little analytical. The severity of the disease must be analysed before one selects the treatment. One also must know one’s level of patience. When one can be patient and can wait for a longer period of time, one must choose Homeopathy as it safely cures the disease. Immediacy of result can be received with allopathic medicine. But one must be careful while using these medicines and hygienic usage can make the medicine respond to the disease. One must not worry about the treatment of this viral disease. It is curable but choosing the treatment can be proper when one consults a health professional.

Knowing the Causes of Infection Can Protect One from Molluscum Contagiosum

Molluscum contagiosum is caused by a virus known as DNA poxvirus called the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV). As virus is the main cause of spreading of this disease, it generally gets spread through touch.  When a human being comes in skin-to-skin contact with the infected individual, the probability of spreading of this disease gets maximized.  The disease becomes severe when it affects individuals with weak immune system. A normal individual can be treated and can recover from this disease. One can use Molluscum contagiosum cream to get relief from the irritation caused by this kind of virus.

Various causes of spreading of Molluscum contagiosum

Though there are various causes which are responsible for the spreading of this disease, the basic causes are:

Skin-to- Skin Contact:

A close skin-to skin contact can easily spread this disease. When skin of the affected person touches the normal skin, the disease can spread onto the normal skin. A few contacts can also cause the virus spread on the healthy skin but the disease takes 2-7 weeks to develop. Children can be affected while playing in school. Children come in close contact with each other while playing or hugging or fighting, and those close physical interactions can be the great cause of MC in children.

 Sexual Contact:

Adults can be easily affected by MC through close physical contact. Sexual contact can be the major causes of this disease in adults.  Adults with HIV or adults undergoing steroid treatment can be easily affected by this disease. Their immune system cannot fight with this virus and they easily fall prey to such contagion. A normal adult body can be affected by this disease when undergoes sexual contact with the “MC affected body”.

Passing of Contaminated Objects:

Many often it spreads when contaminated objects passes from the affected individual to a healthy individual.  Contaminated objects are tested to carry the virus. And it easily gets spread through objects.  Touching or possessing the contaminated object can cause this disease too.

Symptoms:

Molluscum begins as a small, painless reddish bumps or papules. It develops into a reddish flesh-colored nodule. It appears single initially and in the advanced stage, it forms in groups. It spreads in a line and it is called crops. When developed, the papules can be about 2 to 5 millimeters wide which spoils the appearance of the skin.

Treatment of the disease:

Cryotherpy is generally used for treating this disease. Liquid nitrogen is used for treating the skin. These mollusca can be squeezed with tweezers too. But every kind of treatment can leave rash marks on the skin. The infection can be cured with some of the oral medicines but the bumps go away with time. The bump can go away within 12-18 months. The children must not undergo any kind of surgical treatment as it can be painful. The bumps without infection never cause any problem and these can be left for self-recovery.  Children can live a normal life and with their bodily growth, the bumps vanish over time, but the rash can be very ugly and cause embarrassment in children and other children may not want to play with the affected child, affecting the childs self-esteem. There are safe, painless, and clinically proven effective treatments available for molluscum.

Preventing the disease:

As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”, everyone must stay aware about these kinds of infection and its causes.  Even the affected individual can be a little cautious about his or her environment.   Healthy individual must avoid touching contaminated objects like towels and fanon.   One must not fear about such contagion but knowing few of the causes of infection can protect one from this contagious disease.

Molluscum Contagiosum in Children- A Few Things Needed To Be Learned

There are lots of skin diseases one may encounter and there are different precautions taken for each of them respectively. Molluscum contagiosum is known to be one of the common skin diseases usually encountered in children under the age of 10. Before we go on to learn the causes and reasons of the ailment, let us first have a brief description about the nature of the disease. Molluscum is a highly transmittable and contagious skin infirmity caused by a poxvirus. Unless you are completely aware of the factors that are responsible for this disorder you can never go on to take accurate steps for preventing this sickness. Some of the basic factors that one has to learn to implement the required steps are like:

1. Lesions: Occurrence of lesions is the first symptom that symbolizes Molluscum. There is no such restriction that the lesion will occur in a particular part of the body. It is so because it is a skin disease and it can occur on most body areas like the legs, arms etc., but not the palms or soles of the feet. The degree of the disease is determined by the number of lesions.
2. Age: It is mostly common in children under 10, sexually active young adults, and people having weak immune system (usually termed as immunosuppressed). The treatment varies as per the age of the person.
3. Nature of the disease: This contagiosum skin condition is highly infectious. The blisters can be of any shape and children are highly reactive to this ailment. It is passed from one person to another simply through touch.
4. Treatment: There are different types of treatment followed by the physician and as said above that the treatment type depends on the nature and the degree of the condition.There are two therapies of treatment; one is the natural method that makes us of the healing oils and the other one is by making use of the recommended drugs. There are no effective painless medical treatments. Retin-A or Aldara are sometimes tried but there is little scientific validation of effectiveness. Most physician medicated treatments of molluscum involve destruction of the lesions and involve some level of pain. Recent studies show benefit from a combination of tea tree oil and iodine in relieving molluscum in children.

Some tips about the prevention and treatment of molluscum contagiosum

Molluscum Contagiosum is a common childhood skin infection caused by a poxvirus. This disease is a contagious one, which means it can be transmitted through direct skin contact as well as by using affected people’s personal belongings. This disease can be seen generally in kids and young adults. This virus mostly attacks to skins those contact each other like arm pit, genitals, lower belly, groin, buttocks etc. It can also be found on face and eyelids also. Treatments for molluscum can be possible if you will identify the disease by the major symptoms.

There are no severe signs related to this skin infection like fever, nausea or weakness. The symptoms are generally mild: dispersed and small growths, brown and slightly red bumps which sometimes may itch. These bumps turn into swollen and scabby ones on complete growth. Generally four types of molluscum contagiosum virus are identified. Those are MCV -1 to -4, from which MCV -2 can be seen in case of adults. In advance stage please contact with your dermatologist for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum.

This infection can sometimes continue for years if not treated well. Various medical experts advise to purchase salicylic acid and to use regularly on the infected areas. There is also another remedy of using sterilizing soap on the affected area for at least about a few minutes. These are some of the procedures which you can rely without the help of doctors, but when none of the above procedures are working out, go and seek help of a good dermatologist for better treatment. There are also surgical operations which doctors usually recommend as per your comfort. The two most common operations are- cryotherapy and cream applications with oral medication, in which molluscum contagiosum cream is applied on the affected area for the betterment of skin.

There are several preventive measures which we should follow to avoid these kind of skin infection as it is said as “Prevention is much better than cure”.

• Any skin disease can be avoided by surroundings with proper hygiene. Some necessary habits like- wash your hands properly in a repeated manner will keep you away from this virus.
• Never use personal stuffs of someone who is infected with poxvirus.
• Always cover the infected area of your skin with a watertight bandage.
• Try to keep away from getting in touch with a person who is affected by the virus.
• In general, this virus can be seen in case of children as they have a very sensitive skin. So, molluscum contagiosum children should be taken care of very seriously.
• Always use good quality disinfectant for the precautionary issues.
• Stay away from sexual intercourse with a virus affected person, because in case most of the adults this disease transmits through the genital area.
• This disease can easily spread if frequent scratching is done on the affected skin areas. So, avoid scratching surface infected by poxvirus.

 

Medicine for molluscum contagiosum is available at the medical stores which are very much effective and help you for the cure of this kind of skin infections. If you are not careful enough towards this disease, this is better be the moment because late cure can bring various complications upon you.