What is Molluscum contagiosum?
Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection that produces little bumps on the skin. These are often pearl like in appearance and with a little dip in the centre. There can be numerous spots. They commonly appear on the face, arms and legs, also the bottom and genitals. They are generally painless but can become angry looking and itchy.
Molluscum contagiosum is common in children under 10. It will generally clear up by itself so your doctor is unlikely to recommend treatment. However, it can take a year or two to go. Parents therefore commonly bring their children for homeopathic treatment in the hope of speeding this up.
If you are not sure whether your child has molluscum, you can read more about molluscum contagiosum and see a picture of the typical appearance on the NHS website.
Ella’s case of molluscum
When I treat children with molluscum I find it often clears up rapidly, although some cases may be more persistent. As a typical example, I shall tell you Ella’s story.
7 year old Ella came to me for help with molluscum. It had started 18 months earlier on her bottom and was now spreading. Her general health was good although she had had verrucas in the past and her teeth were a bit weak. She was outgoing and sociable, loved school and also played an instrument and took part in sport out of school. I learned that she was kind and generous, keen to please and enjoyed cuddles. She was a good friend and worried about people when they were ill. She was afraid of sleeping in the dark and of monsters.
On the basis of this information, I decided phosphorus was the remedy that best matched Ella’s personality. I prescribed this, plus an additional remedy for patterns of health in the family. Ella came for a follow up appointment 4 weeks later. She had no new molluscum spots. Of the old ones, some had healed and 3 were larger, redder and more angry. I explained that this was a positive response and that these last ones should now clear. I gave a repeat of the remedies but advised that she should only take this if the spots stopped changing. A few weeks later, the spots had all disappeared.
Choosing a remedy to get rid of molluscum
There are a number of particularly useful homeopathic remedies for clearing molluscum, according to homeopathic text books such as Murphy’s “Homeopathic Clinical Repertory”. Remedies bromium, bryonia, calcarea arsenicosa, calarea carbonica, kali iodatum, lycopodium, mercurius, natrum muriaticum, silicea, sulphur, teucrium and thuja are suggested.
A professional homeopath will bear these options in mind but needs more detailed information to decide on a prescription. I will therefore ask for more details about the molluscum spots themselves. This could include where are they and how they feel to the patient. It is also important to take note of what was happening in the patient’s life more generally around the time the molluscum appeared. Next I will also look at general aspects of the patient in order to choose a remedy that matches them overall. That is why I will ask wide ranging questions about sleep patterns, food preferences, energy levels and general personality. I am also interested in the past medical history of the patient and other family members and much more.
I will then review all the information gathered and carefully match a remedy to that individual. I will therefore prescribe many different remedies for a group of children who all come with the same diagnosis of molluscum contagiosum. Sometimes I will select a remedy not even in the list above. (In Ella’s case it wasn’t any of those.)
Remedies I myself have found helpful for children who came with molluscum in the last few years have included: calcarea carbonica, silicea, sulphur, phosphorus, thuja, tuberculinum, medorrhinum, carcinosin and variolinum.
Ella’s mother explains why she chose homeopathic treatment
“I came across the idea of using a homeopath when I realised that my GP was not in a position to help. I started researching on the internet and found some creams that could be applied to the molluscum but I didn’t like the effect that some of these creams had on children. I then discovered that there was a possibility of having them treated homeopathically and that is when I contacted you and very glad I was when your treatment was successful.”
If you’d like to know more
Do get in touch if you have a child with molluscum and would like to consider homeopathic treatment. You can learn more about me and my homeopathy practice on my main website and you are welcome to book a free introductory call or get in touch to ask any questions.