Moloscum is a common misspelling of Molluscum Contagiosum, a highly infectious virus that affects human skin.
Moloscom is actually relatively harmless in the sense that it does not cause any complications or concomitant illnesses or conditions. However, moloscom is a very obnoxious condition to have and can stifle the self-confidence of the infected party.
How to people wind up getting Molluscum Contagiosum? Moloscom is easily transmitted through skin to skin contact or by sharing clothing, towels, bedding, etc.
The virus is particularly contagious on wet media such as wet skin or wet towels. It’s extremely infectious character is what gives it the appendage “contagiosum”, meaning contagious.
It is most common to see Molluscum Contagiosum in children but adults get it as well. Immunocompromised persons (i.e. people with lowered immune systems) are more likely to become infected with moloscom and tend to carry it around longer.
That is one major disadvantage of mollescum: it tends to stick around for up to a year in its host.
So what does Moloscom look like?
Generally, an infected individual will develop small, pimple-like lesions on their skin and may exhibit a small patch of them in a given area. The pimples look white and are both painless and do not itch.
Molluscum warts, as they are called, can also spread themselves to other parts of the body with healthy skin even with no help from you. This process is termed autoinnoculation and is a survival mechanism of the virus.
The virus is actually contained in a small, white, waxy ball inside the pimple, and removal of the pimples generally abates the moloscum virus. In fact, this is the most common and also most highly recommended treatment for molluscum contagiosum.
It’s technically called surgery but it is a very non-invasive procedure that involves using a very sharp tool called a currette to scoop out the pimple while preserving as much healthy skin as possible.
It is slightly painful but beats the alternative of carrying around moloscum for up to a year and potentially infecting others, all the while self-conscious about this skin condition.
There are several other treatments such as cryotherapy, which involves using liquid nitrogen or nitrogen oxide to freeze off the molluscum warts.
There are also a number of topical creams available which are more or less ineffective in the short term.
Since it takes the body considerable time to recognize the virus as a threat and mount a proper immune response, the best option is to have the virus removed mechanically.
Whether with a currette, laser (this is expensive), or cryotherapy, the mechanical removal of moloscom is very safe and rarely leaves scars.
There is no reason to carry around molluscum contagiosum when getting rid of moloscum is a doctor’s visit away!
