My beautiful baby girl has Molluscum Contagiosum.
 |
| July 27 |
Goosey's case is apparently very mild, with about twelve spots on her right hip and one spot on her left.
I first noticed these nasty little bumps towards the end of July - right around Goosey's 4 month birthday - during a family shower. So Casey did a little research, and decided the symptoms most closely matched those of Yeast Infection. The next morning I called the pediatrician and described the appearance of the rash, and I told him that we thought it was yeast... So, without seeing her, he prescribed an anti-fungal cream and asked that we follow up in a week.
A week later the bumps looked the exact same.
So that Friday, Grampy and Auntie Fal brought Lulu to the pediatrician. (Now, I really like our pedi, but this next part still kind of pisses me off...) The doctor looks at Lulu's hip and says, "Hmm I really don't know what that is, but its definitely NOT yeast..." Brilliant! He sent them home with instructions to "watch it" for a week and "let him know how it looks". During that week we alternated using Desitin and baby powder on her hip, and it didn't do a thing.
A week later the bumps looked the exact same.
I happened to be off of work that day, so Grammy and I took Lulu to the pediatrician - only this time we saw another doctor. This doctor walks in, and the moment she sees the rash she says, "That looks like Molluscum". Ahh, where were you a week ago??? She proceeds to tell me that Molluscum is a type of virus, similar to warts, that is harmless and self-healing.
She presented us with three options (each with pros and cons):
1) Leave it alone, let nature take its course, and eventually these suckers will heal on their own. The Good: Natural; no meds, no pain. The Bad: The process can take up to 6 years.
2) Use a prescription cream three times a week for one month, it will dry out the rash and cause the bumps to scab over. The Good: The rash will clear in 4-8 weeks. The Bad: The medicine can cause numbness, itching and burning.
3) Freeze them off with liquid Nitrogen. The Good: Kills the virus completely. The Bad: Verrry painful; the virus can come back; possible scarring.
We chose to try the cream.
 |
| August 24 |
After more than a month with these damn spots, we've finally got some improvement. They've begun to scab, and her left hip is actually completely clear. Our follow up visit is in mid-September, and we're optimistic that the infection will have cleared by then (thank you, God!).
So how did my sweet baby girl get this infection?
The doctor said that once someone gets a wart they become a carrier of the virus (even after the wart has been removed); and anytime that person itches the site of that wart, the virus gets on their hands. Since all of Lucy's caregivers (myself included) have had a wart at one time or another, any one of us could have given it to her while changing her diaper.
The doctor did point out that this infection is very common in young children and infants (daycare setting, sharing towels at the pool, using public bathrooms, etc.). It can appear anywhere on the body, the most susceptible areas are the arms and legs. The most effective way to prevent this kind of infection is by washing your hands often. While this infection doesn't cause any pain to the child, it can be pretty darn concerning to the parents.
Now, as promised, to take your mind off of this evil infection, some pictures of Lulu...
 |
| Fresh out the bath! |
 | |||
| Airing out the tush! |
 |
| "Oh geez, Mom! You HAD to post that picture of my butt, didn't you?!" |
No comments:
Post a Comment