What You Need to Know About Molluscum

In this episode Dr. Lisa Swanson takes a deep dive into Molluscum Contagiosum, which is a very common and highly contagious skin virus that primarily affects children. It spreads easily through close contact and shared water environments such as swimming pools and baths. While the bumps can persist for up to years, the immune system usually clears the infection on its own, and most people only get molluscum once.

As the body begins fighting the virus, children may develop related reactions such as molluscum dermatitis, pseudo-furunculoid molluscum (inflamed bumps that signal an immune response), or an ID reaction—an immune-driven rash elsewhere on the body. Although the condition can look alarming and carries some social stigma, it is generally harmless and does not require quarantine. For families who prefer faster resolution, dermatology treatment options are available to help clear the lesions sooner. 

Keywords

Molluscum Contagiosum, Dermatology, Pediatric Dermatology, Skin Bumps, Children's Health, Immune Response, Skin Treatment, Contagious Skin Virus, Molluscum Dermatitis, Pseudo-Furunculoid, ID Reaction

Links, Attachments

Portico Compunding Pharmacy

Chapters

00:00 Intro to Molluscum and Welcome

02:15 Pox Virus, Swimming Pools

04:00 Immune Treatments

06:25 Appearance of Molluscum Bumps

07:45 Molluscum Dermatitis

10:00 International Listeners

11:28 AAD Shade Grant for Schools

12:00 Pseudo-Furunculoid Molluscum

14:10 Symptoms of Molluscum

16:027 Hygiene & STD Stigma

17:30 Adults & Molluscum

21:00 Immunity

22:25 ID Reactions

26:00 Molluscum Will Eventually Resolve

30:00 If You’re Going To The Pool

33:00 Goodbye

The information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Always consult your  physician regarding your health.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, everybody, and welcome to another fun-filled episode of the Skin Credible Podcast. I'm your co-host, Dr. Lisa Swanson. Our main host.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

I'm co-host.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

You're the star. That's very kind. Um, and then I've got my co-host Anna with me today because we're gonna talk about a condition that I see every single day in clinic and it drives parents crazy.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

It drives kids a little bit crazy, but it really drives parents.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Those parents.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Yes. And that condition is called molluscum.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Molluscum.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Molluscum contagiosum is its long name. It goes by molluscum. Yeah, yeah. That's its nickname. And molluscum, geez Louise, it's everywhere. All the children either have it or had it or will get it.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

And so I see it every single day. And I tell families that it's super, super common. Pretty much every kid'll get it. You only get it once. So that's nice. That is nice. That's kind of the silver lining. Is that like chickenpox? Can you get chicken pox toys? So when you get chicken pox, again, it's called shingles. Oh, that's right. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

The reactivation.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Yes. So I tell people, Milluscum is kind of like, in a way, it's kind of like the chicken pox of this generation because like when I was growing up, pretty much every kid got chicken pox.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

And then you had it and you got over it. And a lot of times there were like chicken pox parties where let's all get it together. Right. Let's all get it together and just get the neighborhood over it. And I sometimes wonder if we're gonna start to see molluscum parties, you know? Just put every put one kid with molluscum in a pool with a whole bunch of kids that don't that haven't had it, and just get the neighborhood through it. Get it over with. Get it over with. One and done. And so molluscum's kind of better than chicken pox because once you've had it, you don't get it again and you don't get anything else. No. The other kind of interesting thing is that molluscum is caused by a pox virus. But chicken pox is not. This has to be changed. I know you can't handle this information. Right? So chicken pox is caused by a virus called varicelluster, which is in the herpes family of viruses. Of course, it's different from the cold sore virus, but it's they're in the same family of viruses. And so pretty much every kid's gonna get it. Most common place to pick it up is swimming pools. It spreads like crazy in swimming pools. It's like the water or something? We something about the water makes it spread really easily because it also spreads really easily in baths.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

Because it's not like kids are like hugging in the swimming pool or like what would that be all about?

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Um, but no, just being in the water. Yeah. Um, the virus, you know, you'd think the chlorine would kill anything. Yeah. But for this particular virus, it like makes it like a superhero. Like, not good. What's the Hulk where he's like a normal guy and then he gets angry and then he's like molluscum. Yes, that's molluscum in the swimming pool. Once you get one, you get several because they populate. They have little molluscum babies, they have a molluscum family. And until all your molluscum are gone, it's possible to get new ones because any molluscum can have a baby molluscum. Oh. And so until they're all gone. Every single one has to be gone. Correct. Correct. So some families will come to me and they'll be like, Well, I just want to choose a treatment that stops them from spreading. We don't really have that. We have good treatments, and we're going to talk about that in our next episode. We have good treatments. A lot of them kind of alert the immune system to the virus because the immune system is capable of defeating the molluscum virus. And eventually it always will. It is okay to not treat molluscum. Eventually, they'll go away. So it's just a matter of the immune system learning to do it. Learning what to do with it and identifying it. So it can take two to three years for mollusculum to go away naturally on their own. The average is one year. And the reason it evades our immune system for so long is because the virus just infects the most superior layer of your epidermis. And so your immune system cells that are kind of circulating, trying trying to identify and defeat infection, they don't even know it's there. They don't even know it's beyond their sight. It is. It is. It's like it's like there's a ship on the surface of the water, and there's a submarine down below, and that submarine's radar is broken. Because now all submarines, they can see what's above them. Yeah. So the that makes the analogy a little bit subpar. It can occur anywhere you have skin. So you can get molluscum on your face. You can get molluscum on your yes, sometimes. And actually that can sometimes be tricky, especially if there's just one. When there's just one molluscum, and sometimes when there's just one molluscum, it's like one big molluscum. And sometimes it's really hard to tell that it's a molluscum. And I have in my career biopsied them because I wasn't sure what it was. Yeah. And it was like one little thing, one weird-looking bump. It's very, it's a very easy diagnosis when you see a kid with 20 molluscum. But sometimes when you see one and it's bigger and it doesn't really look like a standard molluscum, you're like, what the heck is this? And so you do a biopsy of it and you get the report back and it's like molluscum, and you're like, oh, I can't believe it. I can't believe molluscum fooled me. You can't be perfect all the time. I guess that's true, but I still try. But every time I get that path report, I'm like, gosh darn it. You know? Yeah. When there's several molluscum, it's like home run diagnosis, you know immediately what you're looking at. Yeah. And molluscum themselves, you know, they tend for the audience, they tend to present as these like little skin colored dome-shaped papules. So a papule is a bump. Dome-shaped means that it's like a dome rather than flat topped. Okay.

unknown 6:32

Boop.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Boop. Yep. Yeah, just like that. We make that sound. Like a skin-colored pimple, kind of? Like, yeah. In fact, sometimes when they first pop up, people are like, is this a pimple? And then parents try to like pop it. Yeah. You know, hallmarks of molluscum is that the bumps tend to be like they have like a hint of shine. And a lot of them will have what we call central umbilication, which is like a little belly button. Like a tiny divot in the bumps. Yeah, like a tiny divot in the center of the molluscum bump. Yeah. Belly button bumps. Yeah, like belly button.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

But not all of them have them.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

No, I mean, when you see that, you're like, okay, I can feel confident this is a molluscum. If you don't see the umbilication, then sometimes the diagnosis is harder. Um, but when you see it, you're like, okay, home run molluscum.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

So not all molluscum are like red around.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

No, in fact, most of them in their native state are not. When we start to see red around, we actually are happy about that.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Because that red around implies that the immune system is responding.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

So as the immune system responds to molluscum, a couple things can happen. And sometimes it's just one of these things, and sometimes it's all of these things together. So one thing that can happen is what we call a molluscum dermatitis, where you get an eczema-like rash around the molluscum. And that is something we want to treat because if it's left untreated, A, the dermatitis can actually allow the molluscum virus to spread more easily. No. Yes, because the skin's barrier is impaired. And then secondly, the molluscum dermatitis make it itchy. So then the child scratches and then that spreads the molluscum.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

So molluscum dermatitis, we want to treat. And you can use just a basic topical corticosteroid like hydrocortisone for that. Or I really love the Erin regimen for molluscum dermatitis. Just for the rashy part. It will cure the molluscum. Correct, correct. It is not a treatment for the molluscum themselves, but we do want to calm down the dermatitis. And the Aaron Regimen is very effective at doing so. And I talked about the Aaron Regimen in our eczema episode. So a little bit of detail on that in case you missed it. But if you missed it, go back. Go back and listen to it. It's a good one. It's a good one. But the Aaron Regimen is a compounded mix that contains three ingredients a mild topical steroid, a topical antibiotic. It's all in a moisturizing base. It's super dilute, it's eight ninths moisturizer, which makes it super safe, but it also happens to be super effective. So it's everything we want. Nice. And it's safe enough and dilute enough. You can use it up to five times a day if the molluscum dermatitis is really bad. Um the one downside to a compounded product is that typically insurance will not cover that. The compounding pharmacy that I utilize here in beautiful Boise, Idaho is called Portico. And they ship. And they ship. They'll ship nationwide and they charge$45 for a half-pound tub. So you get a big quantity of it. And you can specify if you want it in cream or ointment. Nice. Again, for the listener, creams will sometimes burn and sting when they're applied, but they rub in completely. Ointments are goopy like Vaseline. They don't sting, but they're goopy. So I always ask patients and their families which one would you like? One that rubs in, but is a little stingy-burny, or an ointment that doesn't hurt at all, and see which what their preference is. In general, the younger the patient, I'm more likely to choose ointment. And the older the patient, I'm more likely to choose cream. Nice. So it is anywhere, anywhere in the country, in the United States country. I don't maybe we have international listeners. Yes, we actually do.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

A couple in Mexico and one other place, but I can't remember right now.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Wow. I really want to get some listeners in Australia. Ooh. We need a Bluey connection. Exactly. Exactly. Because I feel like if we have listeners down under, I'm one step closer to Bluey.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah. So, you know, Australians, listen up. You have a friend who's Australian, a cousin, anybody. Tell them about it. Tell them about the pod. And the time change doesn't matter because you can listen to the pod anytime. You can watch us on YouTube anytime. That's right. And you know what would be really fun, Anna? If like we got real big in Australia, like real popular there. Yeah. And they invited us down to Australia. That'd be cool. To do like some live shows. Yes. And I would, I think an episode like that, we would want to talk about skin cancer because Australia has, I mean, everywhere has skin cancer rates are way high. They have a hole in the opening or something like that. They do. So the sun is very, very intense there, and they have really high skin cancer rates. But conversely, they're doing wonderful things for sun protection. All their playgrounds are covered with a shade. Oh, we should do that. I know. I know. In fact, for listeners out there, the American Academy of Dermatology offers a shade structure grant program to schools.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Very cool. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

So schools in the United States can apply, and then there are funds allocated for them to put shade structures over their playgrounds.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

I knew.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

I know.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

You knew.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Yeah. I knew. In Australia, the kids all have to wear hats when they go out on the playground and they all have to wear sunscreen. So back to molluscum dermatitis. So the Aaron Regimen is my favorite for that, works really well for that. The second thing that can happen is the immune system starts reacting to the molluscum, is you can get pseudoforunculoid molluscum.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Fronculoid.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Do you think you can spell pseudofarunculoid?

SPEAKER_01 12:11

P S E U D O F U R O N C U L O I D. You were so close. Darn. So close.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

It's F-U-R-U-N.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Oh. Fur uncolo. Forgot the uncle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

And what a pseudoferunculoid molluscum is, so a furuncle is a boil. Okay, like a cyst, kind of. Like a cyst, kind of like an inflamed cyst. Gotcha. And so a pseudoferunculoid molluscum is a boil or pimple-like molluscum. So they're big, they're red, they're inflamed, they often look like they're gonna drain pus.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

Pop? I mean, you can pop them. That was a thing on Reddit, too. People recommending buying gloves and alcohol and just stabbing that.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Oh, stabbing them.

SPEAKER_02 13:06

Which I'm sure you don't recommend with like a clean needle or thread. Oh, wow. Which sounds painful. And then if they're contagious, wouldn't it like I don't know? That's too scary.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah. So a couple things about pseudofronculoid molluscum. They appear infected. They're not. Okay. They are entirely immune system response. Oh, this is good. Yes. Okay. So it's the immune system at work. And so we look at them. When I see a kiddo with them, I'm like, this is really, really good because the immune system is launching an attack. And so if you see white material like pus and you pop it or drain it, that is just the molluscum body. It is not infected, it is just inflamed. And we even refer to this as the boat sign, beginning of the end. Oh, I think that's a good idea. Okay. And so when we see those angry molluscum, we're confident that the immune system is launching an attack. That's great. Are they symptomatic otherwise? They're painful. Like the frunculosis, but the molluscum themselves? No. Okay. So molluscum all by themselves are typically asymptomatic. They're itchy if you have molluscum dermatitis, and it's painful if you have pseudofronculoid molluscum. And so if people want to pop and drain a pseudofrunculoid molluscum, that is allowed. But what I usually recommend, because sometimes it's so painful and it does help to like relieve the pressure. So I understand that. Yeah. Um, and so we'll tell people like, get put your child in like a nice warm bath, and then upon taking them out of the bath, just gentle pressure both sides. You don't like if you're pulling and pushing and and really prodding, that's too much. And your child is probably screaming. Yeah. But gentle pressure after a bath, if you're able to gently expel the contents, that's okay. We're okay with that.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

So almost like not that you would recommend this either, but like almost like a if you have a really bad white head and you know it just needs a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

Yes, yes, a little gentle pressure. And sometimes I feel like it's helpful to even use like two Q tips because when fingernails get involved, yeah, especially with kids, yeah. And then sometimes with pseudoforunculid molluscum, sometimes we will do an oral antibiotic. Oh. Now you'll remember I told you these pseudoforunculid molluscum are not infected. And I stand by that. Okay, but we will use the oral antibiotic for its anti-inflammatory properties, not its antibacterial ones. Got it. And so we, you know, sometimes we'll do seven to ten days just to help calm everything down. Sometimes I'll recommend a bleach bath for the same reason. Um not a pool bath. Not a pool bath, but you'll give your molluscum to everybody. Um, and so a bleach bath is anywhere from a quarter to a half a cup of bleach in a tub of water, and just do that, you know, two or three times a week.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

Potentially I could help with a mollusculum dermatitis too, if that was a thing. Maybe. Because doesn't it help with like some must be? Actually, it can.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

It's never been that good at it. You know, I think we did a lot of bleach baths for eczema before we had like better options. Sure. Not that it's wrong to do it, but I think we have better choices these days. Check out our better options episode. Yes, check out our better options episode.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

It's not a sign of like I saw some people like thinking it might be poor hygiene. Oh gosh. Or like the molluscum. Well, there was also a threat about it being an STD, a sexually transmitted disease. This is an important thing.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Yes, yes, yes. Okay, so molluscum can occur anywhere where you have skin, face and undearea included. So you can see molluscum in the face and the undearea. They are no more dangerous, no more serious in these locations. They just give people a different vibe. Yes. They're not loving it when it's on the face or the under.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

People might get the ick, as they say.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Yes, they might get the ick, but they're no more dangerous. The virus doesn't crawl up into anywhere, it doesn't cause any damage or scarring anywhere. It's all external. It's all external, yes. And so while sometimes more distressing, they are no more dangerous in those areas. Now, when they occur in adults, so most of the time we have molluscum when we're kids. And so most of us are immune by the time we reach adulthood. But occasionally you'll see an adult with molluscum. And when you see an adult with molluscum, it tends to be in the undie area and it tends to have been contracted via sexual contact. But I push against any talk of STD. Yeah. Okay. It's just that that is skin, and you're in contact with somebody else's skin. Sure. And if they're carrying the virus, you might get the virus. It's just because of contact. It could be your elbows rubbing together, you know? Yeah. It's just that in adulthood, that's where there can be more contact. Okay. And so I um, in general, do not think of molluscum as an STD. I push against any characterization of that because that can cause a lot of issues, a lot of stigma, and it can create concern where there is no reason to be concerned.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Okay, good to know.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

So that's an important thing to put out there.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Yeah. Does it do you have to like wash your bed sheets or like your clothes in a special way since it is contagious kind of?

SPEAKER_00 18:50

It is contagious. So that's the tough thing with molluscum. Like sometimes I will hear from families that the school won't let the child come to school because of their molluscum, right? Or the swim lesson won't let the child go. And that's a delicate thing because yes, molluscum are contagious. Yeah. Yes, if you are in direct contact with them, or if you're in the same swimming pool as somebody with molluscum, you could get them. But I don't feel that any child needs to be quarantined or kept from anything because of their molluscum. They can go to school, they can even swim because to really eradicate molluscum, we'd have to say that no child in the world can swim for three years. That's just not gonna happen. Yeah. And so it's just not practical. And whether other kids get it from the kid I'm seeing in the office or from somebody else, like everybody's gonna get it.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Yeah, matter of time.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Matter of time. And so I don't put any restrictions. So yes, it's contagious. Yes, it can spread. No, you don't need to keep your child from anything.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

Do you think people talk about it? Because when I was little, I mean, I got lice. Not that anybody needs to know that, but nice. Everybody knows now.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Even the folks in Australia.

SPEAKER_02 20:09

I don't have it anymore.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Good to know. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

But I mean, I would hear about lice as a kid, or you hear about chicken box as a kid when I was a kid. Um, but I don't ever remember hearing like that my cousins had molluscum or somebody in school.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Isn't this interesting? Yes. So we observe that very few adults get molluscum.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Which implies that we are immune. But none of us remember having molluscum.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

So how are we immune to it? Right. There are two most popular theories. One is that the virus used to manifest differently. So when we were kids, or when I you're younger than me.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

I mean barely.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

Okay. Um barely. Um, so when we were kids, maybe it gave us a stuffy nose or a cough or something, and now it causes these bumps on the skin. Second theory is that it has to do with waning immunity to smallpox. So our parents received the smallpox vaccine. We benefited from that because we are their children and we existed and grew up in a time when there was still defenses against smallpox circulating. And so the theory is that the kids these days, they don't, we've lost that protection because we haven't vaccinated for smallpox for decades. Yeah. And so they are more vulnerable because smallpox is apox virus. And so is Malaysia, as opposed to chickenpox, as previously discussed. Um, and so that I think that's actually the theory that I subscribe to. Um, but there, you know, there are different camps out there for for why this happens.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

So diseases can like morph into other manifestations. Is kind of what people are thinking.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

That's the theory that other theories. You know, I mean, certainly that's not terribly common. Sure. You know, norovirus almost always makes your tummy upset. Influenza almost always causes the same symptoms. Uh, and so it's a theory out there, but I think that's partially why I subscribe to the waning smallpox immunity theory. There's one other important um reaction of the immune system that I want to make sure we talk about. So we've covered molluscum dermatitis and we've covered pseudofronculoid molluscum. Sometimes when the kids get pseudofronculoid molluscum, the inflammation will be so intense and so prominent that it will create a secondary rash called an id reaction. Isn't it like a psychological term? I know, right? It worked its way into dermatology. It works its way. By no means is an id reaction a psychological thing. Although sometimes mollusculum can make people crazy. Yeah, yeah, especially the parents. Right? But this is different. This is different. Um, so the id reaction causes this characteristic rash where it causes skin colored to pink, monomorphic papules all over the arms, legs, and cheeks. Monomorphic means they're all the same.

unknown 23:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

So you have all these bumps, skin colored to pink bumps, and they all look the same, and they're all over the arms and legs, especially. They often favor the elbows and the knees.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

So those look different from the actual Mollaskum.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

So sometimes not so much. Most commonly, what'll happen is I'll see a patient in the clinic for Millascum. We'll start some sort of sort of treatment, and then the mom calls in a couple weeks later and says, now there's a hundred of them. And in that situation, I tell her I'd like to see a picture or bring them back into the office because nine times out of ten. Nine point nine times out of ten. Yeah. It is an id reaction. And the id reaction is the immune system working its absolute hardest, so much so that it's overflowing with inflammation and it causes this rash. The id reaction is sometimes itchy. And this is kind of the last hurrah of the molluscum. So you know how when you go to a fireworks show, yeah, the they save the best for last. It's like the most explosive and the most colorful and everything. This is that for molluscum.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

Immune system showing off.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

Yes. The immune system showing way off and just creating one heck of a fireworks display. Okay. So you see the pseudoforunculoid molluscum, you see the id reaction. And the treatment here, what we want to do is we want to treat with the Aaron Regimen, is my favorite in this situation, and because you could smear it all over. And we do that to just kind of calm down the id reaction, settle down even the pseudoforunculoid molluscum, because of the anti-inflammatory benefits of the uh Aaron regimen. And then I schedule follow-up for three to four weeks, and typically they're all gone. Like everything is over.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

Wow. So still a boat sign, like you said, beginning of the end, also.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

And sometimes I'll tell families the uglier the molluscum look, the happier I am. Because when they're at their most ugly, that's when they're about to go away. Good. And so often I'll see a family and they come in for molluscum and I'm looking at them, and it seems like I'm kind of coming in after the fact. Like everything is really settling down. Yeah. And they'll say, Man, when I called for this appointment a month ago, you wouldn't believe how bad they were. And I was like, I I bet I would believe how bad they were. Yeah. Um, because it's often that extraordinary reaction that then fades because the immune system figures it all out, everything settles down, the molluscum go away, and then we're good as new. Good to know. Yeah, yeah. And so I think those things create a lot of burden of molluscum. The molluscum dermatitis, the pseudoforonculoid molluscum, and the uh id reaction really cause issues and wreak havoc on patients and their families. And we can easily manage those consequences of it. Nice. Yes, yeah. And so the molluscum experience does not have to be an uncomfortable one. We can help settle that down and then talk about appropriate treatment for the molluscum themselves if they persist.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

Will molluscum hurt your organs or anything else if you don't treat it, if you just ignore it? No, okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:25

It will not hurt you, it will eventually resolve on its own. It is just a skin virus, it doesn't hurt us in any other way. There are no roots to mollusca. Yeah. Um, they're just on the surface. Eventually they'll fade. And so a lot of people come to see me and they'll say, you know, the pediatrician tell told me that we don't need to treat these, they'll go away. That's true. Okay. But it's also true that we can treat. Sure. So some people are okay with just letting them be and waiting it out. Other people are more proactive and want them gone faster. Either path is the right one. Okay. It's just whatever feels right to the family. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. What else did you read on Reddit?

SPEAKER_02 27:08

Um, those were the biggies. Okay. I mean, a lot of the other things I will save for our treatments episodes, which we will have because they're more appropriate for that.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yes, yes. And I think that's the biggest thing to get out there that, like, while you never have to treat and your pediatrician's right, treatments are available and you can come see a dermatologist or pediatric dermatologist and have your child's molluscum treated any variety of ways, which of course we'll cover all of them. Yeah. And so if the molluscum is just driving you bonkers, we can help.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's good. Yeah. Do you tend to see that families want it treated so that their other kids don't get it? Or do you tend to think that they eventually decide, oh, we'll just let all the kids get it?

SPEAKER_00 27:52

It's a good question because a lot of families come to see me and they're like, I just don't want it to spread to the other kids. Yeah. And in that situation, I'm kind of a Debbie downer. I'm like, the other kids are gonna get it. When I'm usually a very optimistic person, but I'm just like, they're all gonna get it. All every all every child's gonna get it. Um, and whether they get it from their sibling or somebody else, they're gonna get it. So I don't think it's worthwhile to spend extraordinary efforts trying to prevent the spread. The one thing I tell people, if you want to do something, one thing, just don't bathe the kids together unless you do want your other child to get it. Yeah. Um, which again, there is some logic to like just getting it over with. Sure. You know, having it just be a molluscum household for a little while. The other interesting thing that I hear all the time is families come in, I tell them about molluscum, I tell them how common it is, and they're like, I have never heard of this. Yeah. How on earth is it as common as you say when I've never heard of it? Yeah, exactly. And I'm like, well, it's not like people are out there boasting about like, oh, guess what little Susie has? This horribly contagious, bumpy virus. Right. Wanna come over and play?

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Because you're gonna judge them and you're not gonna want your kid to play with.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

Yes, yes. So I think people are mums, the word when they're when their home is infested with molluscum. Yeah. And I think that's appropriate, and you know, I don't think we need to, you know, disclose everything to everyone. Uh, but that is why, because I tell the families like, spend a day with me and you will see a lot of molluscum. That rhymes, spend a day with me and you will see. You're a poet, and you're a poet that would make like a pretty song. But molluscum are everywhere. Yes. Yeah. But that's why people just haven't heard of it. The other thing I recommend is like if you're taking your kiddo to the pool and your kiddo has molluscum, again, I don't think that child needs to be quarantined. Yes, it's contagious, yes, it spreads in pools, but I don't think it's of serious consequence. And I think kids benefit a lot from swimming and stuff. But I do recommend that the kids wear like a swim shirt or something to conceal the area for two reasons. Number one, swim shirts are great and help us out so much in terms of sun protection for the littles. And number two, just so you don't have somebody who has deemed themselves the Molluscum police. Oh, yeah, who is circulating at the pool and happens to spot your child with Molluscum and makes a big deal out of something that doesn't need to be a big deal at all. So covering the area can be a good strategy just to avoid unwanted uh, you know, attention. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Well, good to know. Yeah, they're not gonna hurt you, no, but you can get treated. There is hope.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Yeah, there's hope.

SPEAKER_02 30:54

Or bothered by them.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

And you're not alone.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Yeah. There's so many people out there, they're just not telling me.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Yeah. You know, I think it'd be, you know, why aren't there molluscum support groups?

SPEAKER_02 31:05

There should be. I think nobody wants to admit. Nobody wants to start it. I know an anonymous Reddit thread, perhaps.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

It'd be like it'd be like starting a lice support group. Yeah. Nobody would attend. No. People would be like, I'm not going to that. Yeah, no, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but Millescom, it's out there, it's not dangerous. That's scary. It's frustrating. I understand that. Yeah. And while it will resolve on the own on its own, sometimes as it resolves on its own, it's pretty dramatic. And that's okay. Just remember the uglier it looks, the better it is. And if you need help, you know, getting those mollusculums to go away, come see a dermatologist.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Yeah. The last thing I will mention that I saw on Threaded, on Thread It, on Reddit, um, was that somebody said that they had had a molluscum for like decades, an adult. And so I was like, well, you know, you said that usually it goes away like one year, but maybe one to three years, and more common in children. And so I was like, I don't know, maybe they need to see somebody and make sure that's what it is.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

I think they should see somebody and make sure that's what it is, because truly, if you had molluscum that persisted for that long, you'd wonder about an immunodeficiency, you know, something where your immune system isn't up to par. Uh, I think more likely that person has something else. Yeah, that's fair. You know, and uh maybe maybe somebody told them it was molluscum. Maybe even it was molluscum when the journey began.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

Yeah, at the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

And then that got better, and now they have a a second skin issue. But I would say anything that's persisted for decades is not molluscum. And if it is, check your immune system. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

unknown 32:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:54

Because your immune system will kick in and defeat it. Yeah. Yeah. It'll fight back. Yeah. Um, so molluscum.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Molluscum. We we covered it. Epox virus. Epox virus.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

I know. I don't think I even knew that. I know, and you only get it once, which is that's a real silver lining. I I focus on that a lot with families.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

You're not gonna like recirculate it one kid and another and another.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, which is good. That's that's a gift. And so hopefully everybody out there is feeling really good about their molluscum knowledge. Yeah. And in our next episode, we'll dive into treating it. Yes. We've decided we don't want to wait for it to go away on its own. We're gonna attack it. And there are ways to do that. And there are several ways to do that. So tune in to the next episode, everybody, where we dive into molluscum treatments. Share with your friends. Yeah, share with your friends.