r/molluscum

My story

My hellish experience with this infection took place in 2020. The timeline is murky. There was a stretch of about three or four months from the time I discovered it. During that stretch I was in hell. But I have good reason to believe I had the infection long before that, maybe six months before. And THEN, three months after I was free of my last lesion, one popped up out of nowhere. So, that’s a total of 8-12 months of likely infection, 3-4 months of which I was in constant misery. It was this time of year when I discovered it, so every year around late August and early September I tend to get reflective about how difficult that part of my life was. Believe me when I say I get it. My whole life was this infection. Constant laundry, hours in the bathroom, out of control OCD, almost no sleep due to the anxiety.

Things that got me through (in no particular order)

I found a doctor who gave a damn. It was so cathartic when I found a derm who wasn’t just trying to rush me out. He listened, he encouraged me, he took his time considering best course of treatment. Psychologically that was a game changer.

I leaned into exercise. For the first time in my life I sought out a highly qualified therapist. She advised me to exercise, and not just light exercise. She suggested I really push myself as a way to deal with the anxiety, which was counterintuitive because I thought for sure the sweating would make me more paranoid about infection spread. But in fact the heavy exercise is one of the few things that quieted my racing mind. And it likely boosted my immune system.

I constantly reminded myself this was temporary. I spent a ton of time allowing myself to picture life AFTER the infection. Visualizing life MC-free gave me hope and distraction even when it felt like nothing more than fantasy.

I learned mindfulness. This seems counter to the last one, but when I didn’t have the luxury of visualizing and fantasizing about being cured, I learned to just put one foot in front of the other. Every task was completed step by step, just getting through the day moment by moment.

I stayed constant in the treatment. After trying what felt like everything else, we did cryo. That was probably around the 8-month mark, so it may have been just a coincidence that it seemed like that was the treatment that finally got the healing started. But I wish id tried it earlier.

I relied on communities like this one. Hearing other people’s stories and advice helped so much. No doubt I spent too much time these kinds of forums. It probably wasn’t always good for my mental health, but thank god for empathy.

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I know it’s hell, and I know it’s long and feels like forever, but remember that it is temporary. You WILL get your life back.

Figured id toss a post out there after browsing this reddit, I went in for a check since I wasn’t sure if I had an std, turns out it wasn’t and it was this hell of a virus, my doctor prescribed podofilox 0.5 topical solution and heres whats been working for me so far:

Podofilox is a 3 days on, 4 days off, twice a day morning and night preferably, I started week one kind of frustrated and reapplied multiple doses on spots (absolutely do not do this!) and after the 2nd to 3rd day my body reacted heavily, insane itching and slight burning on areas i applied generously, its a very strong chemical that works very well especially on genitals and you will easily burn the surrounding skin if you are not careful.

Week two the burning and itching subsided with slight skin scarring but everything healed over and 90% of the spots i applied on had vanished and healed at the start of the week without having any bad side effects. im going to be starting week 3 soon and will leave a follow up on the upcoming weeks, here are the things I’ve done so far that have worked for me well

Absolutely shower x2 a day, I personally use a OTC skin cleanser in the shower before I dry off with a CLEAN towel, and then apply the solution, one single drop on each spot is all you need, wear a new pair of underwear each time after you apply, something breathe-able, DO NOT SHAVE, if you must, use a trimmer that isn’t too short and be careful and preferably avoid infected spots and clean it off thoroughly before and after, don’t be touching it, let the solution do its thing, also DO NOT HAVE SEX, wait the damn few weeks it will only make it worse if you do. Keep an eye out for new spots and ensure you are applying the solution to them accordingly, some are harder to spot than others. Immune system strength is very important for this, personally I take some regular supplements zinc, multivitamins, really whatever to boost the system. Probably not pertinent to the topic but thats just what I do.

I highly recommend it for anyone who has it on the genitals, ask your doctor about it, from what i understand it does not work for everyone, but majority have positive results with the studies done.

Happy to answer any questions!

My toddler (less than 2) was diagnosed with MC and it’s on her knees and feet. She also has eczema spots. Please let me know what worked for your 1-2 year old toddler and what is safe for them.

I started noticing I had MC about a month ago and have noticed it spread since then. After my diagnosis, I quickly went to see what people had to say about it on reddit and felt much worse.
I still haven’t seen a single post from anyone saying that their MC disappeared on its own even though this is what my doctor has assured me will happen.
Furthermore, it seems like every other post is designed to make you stress out.
I’m now wondering whether I should start taking active steps toward treatment (ACV, tea tree oil etc.) or should i just leave it to go away on its own?
Please help, feeling anxious and needing reassurance :/

I saw a dermatologist for the second time. He said nothing I had left looked like molloscum. However, two lesions absolutely were. They looked off because they were in BOTE; those cores ejected a couple days after the appointment.

I have a bunch of tiny little specks that he says are nothing. I found something more suspicious in an area I wasnt checking closely. Frankly I wish he had examined me more thoroughly instead of solely relying on me to point out potential lesions, because I'm doing this alone and a hand mirror only gets you so far.

I also have a whitish bump with a hair coming out of it and a bit of a red ring around it. I want to believe that really isn't molloscum but I don't know. He seemed almost averse to looking closely at my genitals even though that was the epicenter of the infection.

He said not to take a bath for a month, so I guess if no new lesions for a month I'm okay? It's really hard to let my guard down about this. I'm not sure how to FEEL okay after living like this for 6 months.

I am currently lesion free, as of today. Still waiting to see if any more show up.

I have a vibrator that I used on myself before I was diagnosed, and continued to use over my clothes during the course of my infection. A little tmi, but I squirt enough that it soaked through my underwear and that fluid is possibly a contaminant. I clean it every time with a standard over the counter toy cleaner.

Now that I'm nearing the end of this, I'm not sure if I feel safe with just that cleaner and am considering throwing it away and getting a new one when I'm officially cleared. With my living situation, boiling/dishwasher sanitize cycle is not an option. It is 100% soft silicone. Would the virus even live on it just in my drawer very long? Not sure what to do.

Are we really doing this? I’ve taken them off 3x and it hurts! Can’t shave because it spreads. Even with an electric razor with a guard attachment. Any suggestions? or we all just ripping our pubes out with pimple patches?