All fixed

Well, it's all gone. No symptoms since the last few bumps went as described in my last post. Those last couple were all gone by first week of July, and nothing new since. I first noticed the symptoms in late April, last symptoms early July = about 10-12 weeks duration.

Here's my take on what I think worked:

• Patience - they were going to go away eventually, perhaps all the treatments didn't make them go away any quicker, but I had to at least feel like I was doing something
• Hygiene - preventing the bumps from spreading had a lot to do with them eventually clearing up I think
• Good nutrition - including vitamin supplements and orange juice daily. Still taking them in the morning and I feel great, haven't been sick with anything since.
  
• Duct tape occlusion therapy - I believe this worked to prevent the spread of the bumps at least.
  
• Tea tree oil - this seemed to help too, but it can't really be combined with duct tape therapy as the tape won't stick to the oily skin. I've since discovered it works really good on pimples as well!
• Positive attitude! Don't know why, but it will strengthen your immune system...
  

So this is my last post (I hope). For anyone just starting on this journey -

• keep your chin up and remember there are thousands of worse things that you could get stuck with.
  
• It WILL go away.
  
• You CAN do something to help make it go quicker.
  
• Doctors don't always have all the answers but use them where you can.
• SMILE :)

cya

Update

Well, I'm down to two significant MC lumps, still covered with tape. There are 4 or 5 other suspicious looking lumps, but they are very small and they don't have the same "glassy" look as the MC usually has. I'm keeping a close eye on them though.

It's interesting to note that the area of the original lumps is completely clear, the remaining lumps are all on the adjacent skin. So I wonder if I had removed/covered the original lumps straight away (and hadn't shaved the area), if it would be completely gone now?

Following a comment to one of my posts below, I've started applying tea tree oil daily, instead of lemon myrtle oil. Basically I had a large bottle already in the medicine kit (it's good for spider bites apparently), and I don't have to muck around diluting it like with the lemon myrtle oil. It burns a bit on application to sensitive skin areas, but other than that it's quick and easy to do - I just dab it over the entire affected area before bed every night. I'm not sure if it's doing any good, but it's not doing any harm either.

I believe my body is now fighting the virus, possibly helped by the vitamin C etc I'm taking, but probably just a matter of timing. I am still being pedantic about my nutrition, sleep, and general cross-infection hygiene though... I may stick with the vitamin supplements indefinitely yet, I feel much better generally anyway.

Still cautiously optimistic....

We are not alone....

Just found this forum

Molluscum contagiosum - Naked Scientists Discussion Forum

Be careful, there seems to be some quackery and commercial interests on there, but the majority of people appear to be genuinely concerned with finding a cure and then sharing their experience.

Lemon Myrtle oil

It sounds like Australian Lemon Myrtle oil applied daily to the lesions can be effective - 90% reduction within weeks according to one study:

ScienceDirect - Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapy : Essential oil of Australian lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum in children

I'm not sure how I'm going to manage this in conjunction with the duct tape therapy. I might try applying it to the lesion with a cotton bud, then covering the lot with tape. I will definitely give it a go, some very positive feedback on the forum above.

I bought some from the local health food store, $19 for about 15ml, it was in one of those little bottles for essential oil burners but the label said 100% pure. If you can't find it I came across this web site

Lemon Myrtle Essentials | Organic Body Care

I don't know anything about them, but it's somewhere to start.

If I end up in the dermatologist's office with a severe skin reaction I'll let you know :-)

Duct Tape Occlusion Therapy

Yes, I said Duct Tape. The kind you buy at a hardware store for taping up... ducts.... as well as fixing anything else that breaks anywhere in the universe....

Believe it or not, this is a scientifically reviewed treatment. Here's the Wikipedia page on the use of it for treatment of warts, the process I'm using for MC is similar except without the abrasion step - there are links to the scientific reviews down the bottom of the page.

Duct tape occlusion therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now the jury is out a little on if it really works, but in my opinion it seems to be doing the job. Here's my take on it:

Firstly, the disease auto-inoculates. I can't stress enough how important this is. So covering each lump with duct tape seals it off from infecting the adjacent skin. It's logical, and obvious. Even if it doesn't do anything else it does this very well.

Secondly, it causes an inflammatory response in the lump. This makes the lump break down, and the bodies immune system goes to work killing the virus. The medical texts call it a "minor trauma" which is what the cryotherapy etc are doing as well - by damaging the lump the body sends lots of little killer cells to attack the site of the inflammation, thereby killig the virus as well. Apparently it might be a minor allergic reaction to the glue in the tape causing the "trauma".

I used the plastic duct tape, not the stuff with the woven material in it. I just found it stuck better, the other stuff came off in the shower. I just cut small squares of tape about 7-8mm wide and stuck them to the skin over the lump. Leave them there for up to a week, or if they come off replace as soon as possible. After a week take the tape off, see how it is all going, then put new tape on. Well that's my plan, I just finished the first week today and so far so good.

Now I started with cryotherapy, and I think that worked well so I'd have to recommend it. But the problem is you might get new lumps between doctors visits which will auto-inoculate, so you want to be able to do something straight away when the lumps appear. Duct tape is cheap, easy, harmless and seems to work.

PS: Hope you have a sense of humour. The first couple of days when I got undressed I forgot I had the tape on and laughed out loud- it does look quite comical :-)

I'll update this blog once a week or so, or if anything notable happens. I am quietly confident...

Control methods (this is what you came here for, right?)

This is what I've learned so far:

It is highly contagious and will auto-inoculate. So one bump will soon become 2 or 4 or 10. Prevention of auto-inoculation will greatly reduce the duration of the disease.

Your immune system is the only thing that will really cure it. Everything else just helps.

1. Go to a doctor as soon as you see a lump and have it removed. Liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy) is quick and easy, stings a bit but not really too bad. If you get it early enough you might be lucky and avoid lots more lumps.
2. Don't do anything to spread it around! Shaving is especially bad - it might cut the lumps and allow the contents of the lump (which contains the virus) to spread. Any damage to the skin provides a site of easy infection, so shaving nicks are bad news.
3. It will spread on towels etc. I use a clean towel every day, and a separate hand towel to pat dry the infected area.
   
4. I use body soap to prevent the virus contaminating a bar of soap. Not sure it would survive on a bar of soap, but no point taking any risks.
5. Since it is a virus, no amount of antibacterial, anti-fungal or anti-whatever cream is going to help, unless you can get hold of an anti-viral specific for MC (I wish).
6. Having said that, be pedantic with hygiene - wash you hands immediately after touching the infected area.
   
7. I used to wear briefs. They didn't cover the area on my thigh that was infected, and they don't breath very well. I bought all new underwear, the short legged kind that covers the upper thigh and has more room for... movement. Change twice daily.
8. Eat really well. I'm taking a Berocca every morning plus a multivitamin morning and night. As well as eating heaps of fruit and vegetables, a tall glass of fresh squeezed orange juice every morning, drinking green and black tea instead of coffee, and 3 litres of water a day.
   
9. Rest as much as you can. Go to bed early. De-stress however works for you. Deep breathing exercises are good...
   
10. Avoid alcohol, smoking and other non-prescription drugs. You know you should anyway...
11. Exercise is good, but heavy exercise might be bad temporarily. It increases cortisol levels in the blood, which is bad for your immune system. Take it easy on the massive bench presses until the disease has cleared up.
12. This is preventative - don't wear short running shorts at the gym - you need to eliminate skin contact with any gym objects such as bike seats or benches. Long shorts or track pants are the go for me from now on.
    
13. Duct Tape Exclusion therapy. So far this seems to be working - I haven't seen any new lumps since I started this. In fact I'll create a new post just on it, I think it is that important....
    

Some key facts from my reading

• MC is a virus
  
• It is ubiquitous (common), benign (not going to kill or seriously injure you) and self limiting (it will go away on it's own).
• It is highly contagious
• It is common in children
• In adults it is often sexually transmitted
• The actual lumps contain the virus - it doesn't get into your blood or lymph system.
  
• No bumps = not contagious (well as far as I can tell, not 100% confident on that one yet)
• Touching the bumps is the method of cross infection
• The disease will auto-inoculate - eg a bump on the inside of the thigh (picked up from a bike seat at the gym for example) could transfer to the other leg via direct contact.
  
• The bodies immune system will eventually get rid of it on it's own but it can take 6 months or more.
  

Information

I've already said my doctor was a little mis-informed on this disease, since he told me it wasn't contagious! He actually manipulated the lumps with un-gloved fingers, so I pity the next person who he touched... hope it wasn't a child.

Anyway, you need to get fully informed on this disease if you want to fight it. Here are some good resources on the net that I've found very useful:

Molluscum Contagiosum: eMedicine Pediatrics: General Medicine
Excellent technical site - written by doctors for doctors (and the rest of us). Some medical lingo though, google it if you don't know what a word means

Molluscum Contagiosum Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention on eMedicineHealth.com
A more general overview for the layperson.

Boosting Your Immune System
A healthy immune system is one key to getting over the disease, this site is interesting.

Follow this eat-right plan to fortify your immune system - CNN.com
Interesting article on CNN on healthy immune system boosting foods.

Mindfulness Meditation Technique
If you are stressed your immune system will suffer - meditation can help (yeah I know, I used to think it was weird too, but it does work)

CrushPessimism.com
Also a great site for stress control.


Read up as much as you can....

How this started...

Well, I guess if you're here you're probably unfortunate enough to have molluscum too. Not sure if it will help, but here's my story:

I first noticed a couple of lumps on my upper inner thigh about 6 weeks ago. At first I thought it was what my doctor called a skin tag - a small benign lump of skin - I have had a couple on my stomach for years, nothing to worry about. Ignored it for a couple of weeks (there was my first mistake).

About that time I had a discussion with a girl I was seeing and, well, lets say she liked the clean look. So I shaved the area in question, all neat and clean, I thought anyway (there was my second mistake). A week or two later I noticed more bumps - oh f... - gosh I said to myself in the bathroom. Frantically googled the symptoms, and I was convinced I had genital warts, or HPV - contagious, hard to cure, and long lasting. So off to the doctor.

It was a massive relief at the time to discover it wasn't genital warts but molluscum contagiosum (MC from now on OK?). The doctor told me it wasn't too serious, would go away on it's own, and it wasn't contagious (he was very wrong on the last count). So, no big deal, whip out the liquid nitrogen and burn off the offending lumps (now, guys, that stings a bit - the lumps weren't just on my leg...).

When I got home, as is my tendency, I Googled as much info as I could find. Hmmm, so it is highly contagious, often sexually transmitted in adults, and can take 6-12 months to clear! Starting to worry now. This is not going to do my romantic life any good at all!

So, that made me highly determined to resolve it as quickly as possible. This blog will detail what I'm doing and how it's going, as well as what I've learned, so hopefully others can benefit from my experiences.

By the way, I'm not really promiscuous, and the two sexual partners I have had in the past 12 months don't have any symptoms. So I don't know where I got it from, but I suspect, since the first lump was on my inner thigh, that I picked it up from a bike seat at the gym - there could have been skin contact with shorts on, in a moist environment which the virus loves, and it spread from there.