{"id":4152,"date":"2022-05-03T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T10:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/molluscumcontagiosum\/"},"modified":"2024-10-11T10:18:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T09:18:27","slug":"molluscumcontagiosum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/dermatology\/molluscumcontagiosum\/","title":{"rendered":"Molluscum Contagiosum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Molluscum Contagiosum is a common acquired infection of childhood due to a pox virus. Most infections resolve spontaneously within 6-18 months, though some can last longer. Longer duration is more common in patients with atopic eczema or immunosuppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Young adults may also develop molluscum contagiosum \u2013 sometimes due to sexual transmission. Widespread lesions can be found in those with HIV or immunosupression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Lesions may become itchy if there is surrounding eczema or inflamed and crusted&nbsp; and this often heralds resolution.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/files\/sites\/2\/Dermatology-Molluscum-Contagiosum-2020.jpg\" alt=\"Dermatology Molluscum Contagiosum\" style=\"width:293px;height:auto\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dermnetnz.org\/#gsc.tab=1&amp;gsc.q=molluscum%20contagiosm\">Search DermNet | DermNet (dermnetnz.org)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>R.C 24-05-24<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Referral Guidelines<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Criteria for Referral<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diagnostic uncertainty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Immunosuppressed patients with widespread persistent lesions (may present on the face\/perioral skin)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Primary Care Management<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;In the majority of cases&nbsp;<strong>no treatment is required<\/strong>&nbsp;as spontaneous resolution occurs and parents should be encouraged to allow this to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment can be painful and\/or increase the chance of scarring and should be reserved for adults, older children and problematic lesions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Avoid sharing of towels and sponges to prevent spread<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Topical antiseptic may minimise secondary infection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Topical potassium hydroxide 5% is licensed from the age of 2 years. It is available from pharmacies and should be applied to each spot twice daily until these become inflamed (or no more than 14 days).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cryotherapy may be used but is painful and an option of last resort (avoid in young children)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eczema around molluscum: treat with emollients or mild topical steroid or combination antibiotic and topical steroid cream.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider topical salicylic acid gel for non-facial lesions (do not use on facial lesions).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide a patient information leaflet \u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bad.org.uk\/shared\/get-file.ashx?id=220&amp;itemtype=document\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/www.bad.org.uk\/shared\/get-file.ashx?id=220&amp;itemtype=document<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Resources and Links<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For Patients<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>PIL:<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bad.org.uk\/shared\/get-file.ashx?id=220&amp;itemtype=document\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/www.bad.org.uk\/shared\/get-file.ashx?id=220&amp;itemtype=document<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For Health Professionals<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&nbsp;Primary Care Dermatology Society&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pcds.org.uk\/clinical-guidance\/molluscum-contagiosum\" target=\"_blank\">Molluscum-Contagiosum Guidance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Molluscum Contagiosum is a common acquired infection of childhood due to a pox virus. Most infections resolve spontaneously within 6-18 months, though some can last longer. Longer duration is more common in patients with atopic eczema or immunosuppression. Young adults may also develop molluscum contagiosum &ndash; sometimes due to sexual transmission. Widespread lesions can be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"class_list":["post-4152","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-molluscumcontagiosum"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":" <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/dermatology\/molluscumcontagiosum\/\" rel=\"tag\">Molluscum Contagiosum<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Molluscum Contagiosum is a common acquired infection of childhood due to a pox virus. Most infections resolve spontaneously within 6-18 months, though some can last longer. Longer duration is more common in patients with atopic eczema or immunosuppression. Young adults may also develop molluscum contagiosum &ndash; sometimes due to sexual transmission. Widespread lesions can be","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4152"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21183,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4152\/revisions\/21183"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}