How to Explain Molluscum Contagiosum on a Child

So your kid has been diagnosed with molloscum contagiosum, a bumpy reddish rash that's common in children, especially in warmer months and warmer climates. Perhaps you're wondering how you'll explain it whenever people ask. Being a very visible disease, you can almost guarantee that someone will ask. What will you say?

Instructions

• 1

  Apply whatever treatment your caregiver has prescribed, whether it's a topical retinoid, topical antiviral or a topical immune modifier. Since it's so contagious, you really shouldn't be in public or around other people until treatment has begun.

• 2

  Call or email their teacher(s) at school to announce that your child is undergoing treatment for molloscum contagiosum. The school may prefer to hear the explanation from your doctor or want proof on paper that the child is in fact undergoing treatment.

• 3

  Advise people who spend time with your child that the disease is contagious, and that they should avoid coming into contact with the bumps. Each bump is small, uniformly shaped and has a slight depression in the center. Preventing skin-to-skin contact with the lumps is the best way to prevent the spread of the condition. Explain that it isn't transmitted by saliva or through the air.

• 4

  Consider asking your dermatologist for laser or nitrogen treatments to get rid of the bumps if you believe you'll have a hard time protecting other people from infection.

• 5

  Mention that molloscum contagiosum is a virus and that it only causes a rash. There are no long-term effects from it and the bumps usually pass on their own. They don't itch or cause pain and topical treatments are normally used for preventing the spread of the disease.

• 6

  Counsel your child to avoid touching the skin of other children and keep affected areas covered with clothing, though this may be difficult if the rash is on your child's face.