Pimple like rashes in children

Molluscum Contagiosum (for Parents) - Levine Children's Hospital

What Is Molluscum Contagiosum?

Molluscum contagiosum is a skin rash caused by a virus. The rash has small clear or flesh-colored bumps. The bumps can spread from one part of the body to another or from person to person. For most kids, the rash goes away on its own in 6–12 months, but can take longer.

Molluscum contagiosum (mol-US-kum kon-tay-jee-OH-sum), or molluscum for short, usually goes away on its own without medical treatment.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Molluscum?

The rash is the telltale sign of molluscum. Its bumps:

Start as very small spots about the size of a pinhead.
Grow over a few weeks. They can be as large as a pea or pencil eraser.
Are soft and smooth and may have a small dent in the center.
Often are painless, but can get itchy, sore, red, and/or swollen.
Can get infected with bacteria if kids scratch or pick at them.
Can appear alone or in groups, or rows. Most people get between 1 and 20 bumps.
Can show up almost anywhere on the skin except for the palms and soles. In kids, they're most often on the trunk, arms, and face.

What Causes Molluscum?

The molluscum virus causes the rash after it enters a small break in the skin. Bumps usually appear 2–6 weeks after that.

The molluscum virus spreads easily from skin touching skin that has bumps. Kids also can get it by touching things that have the virus on them, such as toys, clothing, towels, and bedding. Sexually active teens and adults with bumps in the groin or inner thighs can spread them to partners.

Who Gets Molluscum?

Molluscum most often happens in healthy kids between 1 and 12 years old. But it also happens in:

athletes who have close contact, such as wrestlers, or athletes who share equipment, such as gymnasts
people with health problems treated with long-term steroid medicine use

How Is Molluscum Diagnosed?

Doctors can usually tell a rash is molluscum by looking at it. Sometimes they might suggest that kids see a dermatologist (skin doctor), but most kids won't need this.

Can Molluscum Be Prevented?

Kids with molluscum can still go to daycare, school, and sports. To prevent the spread of molluscum to other places on their body and to other people, they should:

Wash their hands well and often with soap and water.
Cover the bumps with clothing or a bandage.
Cover the bumps with a watertight bandage before swimming or doing activities with close contact (like wrestling) or shared equipment (like gymnastics).
Not share towels or pool toys.
Not shave over areas that have bumps.
Not touch, scratch, or rub the bumps.

How Is Molluscum Treated?

Most of the time, molluscum clears up on its own without treatment. Each bump goes away in about 2–3 months. New bumps can appear as old ones go away, so it can take 6-12 months (and sometimes longer) for molluscum to fully go away.

Sometimes, doctors remove the bumps or help them go away more quickly. To do this, they can:

Freeze the bumps off.
Scrape or cut the bumps off.
Put a chemical on the bumps to make the body fight them away faster.
Put medicine on the bumps or give medicine to swallow.

Many doctors don't recommend these treatments for kids, though. That's because they can be painful and burn, blister, stain, or scar the skin. When deciding to treat a rash, they consider where the bumps are and if they're causing itching, pain, or other problems.

How Can Parents Help?

To avoid molluscum and other skin infections, have your kids follow these tips:

Wash hands well and often with soap and water.
Do not share towels or clothing.
Do not share kickboards and other water toys.
Do not touch or scratch bumps or blisters on their skin or other people's skin.

Talk with your child's doctor about the pros and cons of treating molluscum. The rash usually doesn't cause long-term problems or leave scars. Often, the best way to handle it is to be patient, as hard as that might be.

Reviewed by: Melanie L. Pitone, MD

Date reviewed: February 2020

What are those bumps on my child's skin?

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90,000 Eruptions on the skin of a child.

Types, diagnosis and treatment

Have you noticed a rash on your child's skin? Contact your pediatrician to find out the reason. Redness itself is not a disease, but can signal internal disorders in the body.

In the article we will talk about the causes, types and methods of treating rash in children. nine0003

What causes a rash?

Rashes on the skin of a child do not appear just like that. In any case, this is the body's immune response to the influence of external or internal factors.

Different types of rashes are similar in appearance, especially for parents who are faced with a problem for the first time. But if some spots are completely harmless, then others can threaten health. That is why it is important to understand their origin.

The main causes of the rash: nine0003

Reaction to stimuli. If the child is dressed too warmly, the rash may be due to overheating and excessive sweating. Most often, prickly heat occurs on the back, neck, chest and abdomen. The same goes for the diaper. If you do not arrange air baths and do not change it to a new one in time, the skin in the inguinal region and on the buttocks will disappear.
Prickly heat does not require special treatment, it is only important to eliminate the irritating factor.
Physiological. In the first months of life, breastfed babies are often diagnosed with infantile acne. With milk, maternal hormones enter the body, which activate the sebaceous glands. As a result, small comedones and pimples appear on the face. Over time, they disappear. nine0034
Viral and bacterial infections. Measles, chicken pox, rubella, herpes simplex virus, roseola, scarlet fever, meningococcal infection, fungus and streptoderma. These diseases are characterized by specific rashes on the arms, legs and other parts of the body. Many are accompanied by itching and a steady increase in body temperature for 3-5 days.
Allergy. Urticaria and various types of atopic dermatitis: eczema, diathesis, neurodermatitis. Spots without suppuration may cover the head, face, shoulders, armpits, back and groin. nine0034
Comorbidities. Rash may indicate gastrointestinal, vascular, or kidney problems.

Eruptions in children

Depending on the appearance, localization and size, the following types are distinguished:

Tubercles.
Vesicles.
Blisters.
Purples.
Pustules.
Stains.
Erythema.

Why are rashes dangerous?

With any kind of redness, it is important to consult a doctor to determine the cause. The most dangerous rash of viral and bacterial origin, especially if there are other symptoms: nine0003

cough;
sore throat;
enlarged tonsils and lymph nodes;
tearing;
temperature increase.

Without timely treatment, complications are possible. For example, measles can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, and hearing loss.

With skin allergic reactions, it is important to determine the source of the problem. A neglected allergy can cause swelling and suffocation.

What should parents do?

nine0002 If you find bumps, vesicles or redness on the child's body, proceed in sequence:

examine the entire skin;
estimate the area and number of lesions;
check throat, tonsils and take temperature;
remember what the child ate, did or touched before the redness appeared.

Is the baby already talking? Then try to figure out what's bothering him. Ask about the sensations (spots hurt, itch) and general well-being. nine0003

If you have a high temperature, call your doctor at home. It could be a contagious infectious disease that definitely shouldn't be spread. But even if the child looks healthy and vigorous, do not postpone a visit to a specialist - make an appointment at a medical facility.

It is strictly forbidden to self-medicate, comb or squeeze out neoplasms.

Diagnostics

Diagnostic measures help to choose the right therapy. First, the pediatrician prescribes to small patients: nine0003

blood, urine and feces analysis;
skin scrapings;
collection of exudate samples, in the presence of watery formations.

Based on the results, the doctor makes a preliminary conclusion and sends the parents with the child for examination to narrow specialists: an allergist, dermatologist, endocrinologist or gastroenterologist.

Treatment

Treatment of rashes is carried out in a complex way to eliminate both the symptoms and the cause. A young patient is prescribed anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory or hormonal drugs in the form of tablets, ointments or suspensions. nine0003

Along with this, parents are advised to reconsider nutrition and living conditions: