Molluscum contagiosum

Yes. Molluscum contagiosum. If you are unclear of what this is, just know that it is a swear word to me. Molluscum contagiosum is a viral skin infection that causes raised, pearl-like papules or nodules on the skin and takes about 12-18 months to go away. As stated in the name, it is contagious. And guess who has it. Haley. Lucky us. I don't know how she got it, but she does. So, I took Haley into the pediatrician when I first noticed these red bumps not knowing what it was. He told me of this Molluscum contagiosum and that it will go away on its own in 12-18 months. Well, at the time there were only 3-4 bumps so I didn’t think it was a big deal…over the past 3 months they have spread and multiplied like bunnies. Sound gross? It is. It doesn’t bother her for the most part, but I have asked a pediatrician to look at it every time I was in there for something else (over the past 3 months). Every time he or she would basically brush it off like it was no big thing. Now it has spread to her face & legs (it was originally just on her underarm), so I finally took her to the dermatologist. He treated her with something “painless” and dabbed some type of something on each one of them and told me to make sure to “wash off the medicine” in four hours. So, four hours later I take Haley into the bathroom to “wash” it off…only it doesn’t wash off, it is like glue. I scrub and it doesn’t come off. Then Haley starts the screaming. I get the tweezers to try & just pick & lift up the medicine as it is dried on like glue…if I can just get the edge, I can lift it off. (Have you ever put Elmer’s glue on your skin? This is what it would look like & peels off the same way—simple & painless right? Wrong.) Long story short, I am surprised that the police didn’t show up at my door…and who knows maybe they still will. Haley was screaming so uncontrollably for 2 hours as she was so scared about taking the medicine off, as it was like glue on her skin, lifting this glue off scared her to unimaginable depths. She wouldn’t let me touch them, which is why it took us 2 hours to get it all off. I have never seen her so upset. It didn’t hurt her, it just scared her for me to even touch them and when the glue-like medicine would start to lift off she would jerk away because the feeling of it being lifted off scared her. Let me just tell you that if you ever have a child who has this molluscum contagiousum, take him/her to the dermatologist from the start…take care of it when there is only 3-5 and not 25-30. Google it so you know what to look for.