Molluscum contagiosum is a very common condition mostly in toddlers and children under 10 years of age and may start as only a few papules, but some people can end up with hundreds of papules over their body.
Conventional medicine says that there’s no specific treatment and the papules can last for 12 months and to up to 2 years and then clear on their own. Many of my clients have said their GP has offered suggestions for medications or physical removal, with very little or no results and it often keeps coming back for months or even years within families in some cases.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t just have to suffer for months on end while it spreads back and forth between siblings and that there are effective natural treatment options that I have used extremely successfully with many of my own clients. Molluscum might be a generally considered a pretty benign condition that doesn't usually cause any further problems, but its still not nice being covered in these papules and it can be very stressful trying to stop kids from touching it, sharing towels, swimming together etc.
The main problem with conventional 'treatment' in my opinion, apart from it being pretty ineffective, is that it’s symptomatic. You might remove or treat the papules themselves but have done nothing to treat the virus or your bodies response to it, so of course it’s likely to return! Because it’s a viral skin condition and also contagious, for good results and full resolution of the condition and symptoms, you need to support the body to deal with the virus itself and prevent any further papules popping up, as well as heal the skin that’s currently affected.
Molluscum can be spread through skin-to-skin contact, sharing bath’s, towels, swimming together, scratching and then touching other areas of skin or siblings etc. Anyone who has kids will know that avoiding these things for months or even years while the condition resolves itself would be basically impossible!
Kids who also have dermatitis can often tend to suffer with more papules and they can also tend to last longer for a variety of reasons. The skin barrier can be weaker and there can also be more spread through scratching and touching the skin more.
Generally speaking, and everyone is different, I have found that when treating Molluscum Contagiosum naturally, it tends to take only a few days to start seeing current papules get smaller and disappear and even in more moderate to severe cases, it’s usually fully cleared within a month or so.
Best case scenario is that you notice the first couple of papules and you get started on treating it immediately and prevent it getting any worse. In these cases, it can sometimes be enough to dab some 100% Pure Tea Tree oil on the spots 2-3 times daily. Be consistent, keep doing it until they clear and if there’s only a few, it may be easy enough and beneficial to cover them in a bandaid to stop them from being touched too much. Not only is Tea Tree oil antiviral and works to clear the spots themselves, if kids are touching and scratching the spots, they’re less likely to spread it elsewhere on themselves or anyone else.
Most of my clients are well past this point though and potentially already have dozens of spots and need some more support to get them cleared quickly.
The exact treatment differs between people depending on age, severity, any underlying immune requirements, resilience, etc. The important thing is that we support the immune system to work on the virus itself, while healing the skin. Some of the nutrients I will often use to do this are things like zinc for example, as well as herbal medicine or homeopathics that support this strategy from a variety of angles.
Correct dosing is also extremely important for successful treatment. Incorrect doses can be very ineffective at best and doses will differ between children, particularly depending on age but also constitution and what else their little bodies are dealing with at the time as far as their health is concerned. We want the doses to be sufficient to get things happening and healed as quick as possible, but we also need to consider the best options and requirements of each individual to make sure that treatment is not only as effective as possible but also gentle on the body.
Would just the topical Tea Tree oil alone work in more advanced cases? Possibly over time, but I haven’t seen it happen with any more than a few spots. It can be hard to maintain consistency over weeks and if the condition is in the more advanced stages, it will take a lot longer than if there are only a few spots that have just recently come up. I generally suggest additional treatment strategies to make the process as quick and effective as possible. The less stress on you and your family and the quicker it improves, the better!
If this is something you would like help with for yourself or your children, you can make a booking at www.ritualherbbar.com/book-now. If Molluscum Contagiosum is the only thing you would like help with, booking an acute appointment will be sufficient, or if there are any other health issues you would like to work on, please book a full kids (or adults) consult to allow sufficient time to go over everything in detail and make a treatment plan.
Belinda x