Molluscum
What Is Molluscum?
Molluscum is a viral skin infection that stems from a virus known as molluscum contagiosum. It produces small, painless bumps on the skin and sometimes lesions. The skin infection from this virus typically goes away on its own after a time, but it can stay around for years in some cases. Molluscum spreads quite easily through contact from person to person via touch, objects and clothing. In cases where molluscum causes a good deal of discomfort or interferes with quality of life, medical treatment may be required.
Signs and Symptoms of Molluscum
The main sign of molluscum is the presence of a small group of bumps on the skin. They can be a single group or exist in a larger patch of lesions. These bumps are often:
- Shiny and smooth.
- The same color as the flesh, or else white or pink.
- Firm and dome-shaped.
- Somewhere in size between a pinhead and a pencil eraser.
- Present anywhere on the body except the palms and the soles of the feet.
What Causes Molluscum?
Molluscum is caused by the virus molluscum contagiosum. This virus spreads quite easily from one person to the next. Children can pass it to one another through the normal course of play by touching the same objects or one another. Teens and adults more often catch it through sexual contact, though athletes in contact sports can also contract it. Patients can also spread it across their own bodies by touching a lesion and then touching another area of the body.
