Good bye Molluscum contagiosum

That's right folks, for those of you who are familiar with Gabe's "bumps" as we call them, can also bid them farewell along with us. WAHOO! for those of you who are unaware of what it is, or even that she had it, here are some quotes from wikepedia which explains it better than I can myself:

Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is a viral infection of the skin or occasionally of the mucous membranes. It's most common in children aged one to ten years old. The virus commonly spreads through skin-to-skin contact. This includes touching or scratching the bumps and then touching the skin. Handling objects that have the virus on them (fomites), such as a towel, can also result in infection. The virus can spread from one part of the body to another or to other people. The virus can be spread among children at day care or at school. Molluscum contagiosum is contagious until the bumps are gone-which, if untreated, may be up to 6 months or longer.

So our doctor when diagnosing her with it around a year (even though we noticed them around seven months old) asked us if we had taken her to day care, a pool, or a gym. We hadn't, and we're still unsure of where Gabe got hers MC from. My best guess is a shopping cart or some other kid she came in contact with. He told us we pretty much had to wait for them to go away which could take a few years. He said that because they are so superficial (close to the surface) on her skin, her immune system isn't advanced enough yet to notice it as a threat. He told us it was no big deal and didn't hurt unless they were broken open, and that we should wait for them to go away. At the time she only had a few on her face. They look like little zits. They have a white core in them. When they are popped, it's really painful and can scare your kid. If you take them to a dermatologist they burn them or scratch them off which is painful as well, and I didn't want to do that at all. Being on her face I didn't want scaring, and I was hesitant to do anything about it. I look back at when she had one or two, had I known how many more she would get, I would have popped the cores of them on the spot to get them to go away. OH WELL. Anyway for those of you who had seen her in the following months noticed she got quite a bit on her face, thanks to her binky and her scratching them. At least 20 to 30 little bumps on her face at her worse time (around the holidays). She had a few on her legs, arms, and back, but those went away pretty fast. It was really sad, and everyone asked about them.

Now they are only contagious when they are broken open, and the white core gets on things. It's hard to break them open too. I tried being a considerate Mom and we didn't attempt pools or little gyms. I was mad my kid got it from somewhere, I wasn't going to spread hers. If she did have one open I would get the white stuff out, but I wasn't going to pop any myself. When they were already open it's a lot easier to get the core out. I didn't have her take baths, cause they spread in that. She took showers with me, which was sad cause she loved baths. It made a big difference though, and we noticed them not spreading. I wiped her toys down when others came to play and covered open bumps with bandaids. Now I'm sure how contagious they really are, but I would feel bad if friends or family got it from her. I also wanted them gone by the time our boy arrives, cause I don't want him going through it too. Adam and I did get a few ourselves only once the whole time she had them, and we kissed and hugged her none stop, and shared everything with her. We popped ours and they went away. Mine were on my leg and itched and hurt at some points, and I'm hoping she didn't have to experience too much of either of those.

ANYWAY I tried a few natural remedies, and told Adam I would give it a year to go away on it's own before I sought out a dermatologist or other means. How do you get them to go away when they are constantly spreading? She got bad at scratching them too. I wanted them to go away naturally instead of something that would hurt or scare her. Well February we noticed her face starting to clear up, and by the end of March her face looked amazing. Her legs and back were all clear. The only one left on her arm is clearing up as we speak. We pray they stay away.

We really are so grateful for them clearing up. It's nice not having to worry about them spreading, or hurting her. Plus it's nice she doesn't get stared at because of them either. We stopped noticing them, but most people did. We are so happy to announce that they are clearing up and she has her beautiful skin back, with very minimal scares that are already disappearing as well. I know it could have been worse, and some kids and even adults get them a lot more severe than Gabe did. I just had to express how grateful I am that she doesn't have to put up with them longer.

Most of my pictures from last year are already on my hard drive, but her are some before (not when it was at it's worse) and a nice after shot taken just the other day.

Before: (Mainly on chin and around eyes, sometimes on the forehead.)-Couldn't find any good pics of it.



Now:

Doesn't her skin look beautiful? I'm so happy, she totally deserves it.