Q. My grandson, 7, has had molluscum contagiosum for nine months and it has spread. Are there any effective home remedies? His sister now has three spots.
A. Molluscum contagiosum, as the name suggests, can be transmitted from one child to another. This bumpy rash, caused by a virus in the pox family, is usually spread by direct contact or contact with clothing or toys. It’s painless and it usually goes away by itself after a while.
Another mother shared this home remedy:
“My two year old developed the common molluscum contagiousum rash. Most doctors agree it must just run its course.
“I used about 2 oz of an Aquaphor-type ointment and mixed in 20 drops of lavender oil and 10 drops of thyme oil. (Never put undiluted thyme oil on the skin.) I smeared this on the rash every day and covered it so it didn’t get everywhere. The rash started clearing up within about a week, which is what I would consider a rapid response to such a natural remedy. I hope this helps someone!”
Another remedy has been tested by doctors in Idaho. They found that a combination of tea tree oil and iodine (ZymaDerm) was much more effective than either treatment alone in clearing molluscum rashes within a month (Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, March 2012).
