Frequently mistaken for pimples or warts, molluscum starts as
tiny white bumps which are difficult to see in normal light.
Molluscum contagiosum is extremely contagious. Autoinfection (infecting yourself) and cross infection (infecting someone else) is a real problem with molluscum in children.
Transmission of the virus can be via direct skin contact (e.g., contact sports or sexual activity), contact with an infected surface or autoinoculation (self-infection). Children are particularly susceptible to autoinoculation and may have widespread clusters of lesions.
Treatment includes elimination of all bumps with freezing, opening up the lesion and scraping the central waxy core that contains the virus, or Laser therapy. Once the virus-containing head of the lesion has been destroyed, the infection is gone.
