Mollescum – also known as molluscum contagiosum, or just molluscum, is a skin condition that affects a large number of people. Mollescum comes from the molluscum virus, which can be transferred from person to person very easily.
Its highly contagious nature is what gives mollescum the second part of its official name – mollscum contagiosum. Sharing a towel, sexual contact and even simple skin to skin contact can easily result in mollescum being transferred to another individual. Children, especially, are prone to picking up mollescum. Molluscum contagiosum in children is the most common situation. However, adults can also be infected with the virus.
Mollescum is perfectly harmless on an immediate level. It manifests itself in molluscum warts which, depending on where they are and how many of them there are, can be quite unsightly. Coupled with the fear of infecting somebody else, mollescum is simply a very obnoxious virus to have.
The molluscum warts look like slightly more elevated pimples and don’t hurt or itch. Often, the virus will spread in a given area of a person’s body and cause a breakout of sorts. The utmost care and precaution should be taken whenever you or your clothing come into contact with the affected area. You should certainly apply rubbing alcohol to your hands and wash any clothing or towels. Just water won’t do the trick and in fact, mollescum tends to be even MORE contagious when wet!
The main problem with molluscum contagiosum is that it tends to stick around for a while. Even though this problem goes away on its own, it can take up to a year for your immune system to resolve it unaided.
Most people don’t have the patience to wait around while these disgusting molluscum pimples ruin their self-confidence and threaten to infect others with whom they come into contact.
Several molluscum contagiosum treatment options are available including having the individual lesions removed with a scalpel-like instrument.
Other treatment options vary between topical creams, freezing the warts off and even using the fluid from a particular beetle species to eliminate the virus!
In the case of one or two isolated pimples, it’s easy enough to carefully, and in a sterile fashion, remove the pimples, making sure that the entire waxy ball (the virus) is taken out and the area is treated with antiseptic.
If done carefully, this usually resolves the problem with no scarring or other complications.
The mollescum virus is indeed an obnoxious problem to have, but it is easily treatable and there is no reason anybody should have to live with it for a long time.
