Diseases List

Molluscum warts are the result of being infected with the molluscum contagiosum virus. Molluscum contagiosum is actually perfectly harmless in the sense that having it won’t bring about any kind of health crisis. However, molluscum is NOT benign in the sense that it can be unbelievably obnoxious to the person suffering from it.

Molluscum lesions begin to appear in a specific patch of skin, depending upon how the person was infected. Most often, people see mollescum warts after they’ve come in contact with another individual who has molescum or with items that have been infected with the virus. Towels, clothing, blankets and any type of skin on skin contact including sexual contact, are primary vehicles for the transmission of the virus.

Molluscum warts look essentially like pimples that are slightly elevated out of the skin. They tend to have a white center. This white center is actually a ball which encases the virus. This clever evolutionary trick allows the molluscum virus to flourish and conceal itself from the immune system of its host.

Unfortunately, this results in the immune system taking a long time to recognize the molluscum warts as a threat to the host and is what gives molluscum contagiosum its name, due to the highly contagious nature of this condition.

Molluscum warts don’t typically hurt or itch, but they do linger for a very long time. In some cases, molluscum warts will persist for up to a year without any noticeable change or diminution.

For aesthetic reasons alone, molluscum warts ought to be treated as soon as a definite diagnosis has been placed. This is another point to consider: mollescum can be confused with similar skin conditions and ought to be confirmed by a second opinion.

There are many available treatments for molluscum warts and unfortunately, the great majority of them are ineffective. Treatment options range from having the warts lanced off with a very sharp instrument to freezing them off to applying various topical medicines.

Since molluscum warts occur topically on the skin, perhaps the best solution for a few isolated lesions is to have them physically removed by a dermatologist or other qualified specialist.

There is a small possibility of scarring, however. Even so, a carefully performed extraction of the molluscum contagiosum warts is very safe and the best, most immediate option available.

It is important to treat molescum as soon as it is diagnosed, particularly since it not only spreads to others, but has the ability to spread itself to adjacent patches of healthy skin without any help from the host.