Dealing with Molluscum
It has been two weeks since our last visit to the doctor’s office and I have lost count on the number of times we have been there this summer.
My 5 year old daughter has these little bumps on her arms, legs, and trunk that the doctors keep telling me are molluscum warts. The problem is that they keep getting infected and becoming abscessed. According to our doctors the molluscum are viral and will go away on their own. They have not mentioned them being contagious and neither of my other children have them – and my girls sleep in the same bed frequently.
I just can’t help but to think that there is more to it than meets the eye. I have been doing some research and then there is the family history part of it all. My mom had similar skin issues as a child and now has diabetes. There is also celiac in the family, too.
The warts are not breaking open and then getting infected, rather the infection seems to come from the inside. I know the infection is taking its toll on her little body. She is tired, cranky and has no real appetite.
When we are at the doctor’s today, I am going to see if they are willing to do more research, run some tests and help me get to the bottom of this.
If you have any experience with kids and molluscum, I would love to hear about what worked, what didn’t and such.
<strong>GET THE UPDATE:</strong> <a href=”http://raisingahealthyfamily.com/the-molluscum-are-finally-gone/”>The molluscum are finally gone! </a>
Posted on August 17th, 2007 by Char
Filed under: At the Doctor's, Molluscum, Skin issues
My three children have all had molluscum – tiny raised ‘pearls’ scattered across their bodies.
The doctors here – like yours – seem unconcerned, and the molluscum did indeed go away after a year or two, as predicted.
Nursery were worried, and wanted them covered – and we didn’t share baths with other children until they were gone in case of contagion – but the general theory was that children would get them or they wouldn’t – and they would go when the immune system dealt with them. Bit like verrucas.
Your link with celiac is interesting. Celiac is an auto-immune problem. I’m wondering about links with a depressed immune system. One of my children (not my coeliac daughter) has had verrucas for years – literally, 4 or 5 years now. Like molluscum, they are supposed to just go when the body is ready. But if a child’s immune system is dampened down, it might take forever to be rid of these things, or I suppose there might be a worse reaction than usual. I’ve had my verruca-ridden child tested for coeliac disease twice now, but I still wonder.
Issues with gluten don’t just manifest in digestive disorders, but everywhere – skin (psoriasis, dermatitis herpetiformis), teeth (poor enamel formation, ulcers in mouth), bones (osteoporosis, short stature), blood (anaemia) … Celiac disease is known as a silent disease for a good reason.
I hope your doctor comes up with some answers for you. Do let us know how your daughter gets on.
Lucy – thanks for your insight!! The appointment today was stressful. The doctor was running late and obviously in a rush. She wasn’t concerned about getting to the root of the problem at all – just treating the obvious infections – there were 3 molluscum that were infected. She was more concerned that since a previous abscess had been cultured as staph, that these could be acting more like MRSA.
The nurse practitioner in the practice is going to a celiac seminar in September. I am hoping that next time we go in we will see her. She is never as rushed and truly seems more concerned at getting to the bottom of things.
[...] can read more about our experience with Molluscum in these two posts: Dealing with Molluscum and Treating Molluscum with Tea Tree [...]