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History Of Molluscum Contagiosum. Developed Bumps On Shoulder And Chest. How To Get Rid Of It?

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Posted on Wed, 5 Dec 2012
Question: Dear Doctor, I am a 30 year old male, very active. About 11 months ago I began to develop small pimple-like bumps on my shoulders, upper arms (shoulder area) and chest. Growing up I did not have much acne but at times a pimple or two on my shoulders and what I have now is not pimples as I remember.

Over the past 6-7 months I consistently have 60-70 +/- bumps in total at all times in the area described above. They are not pimples or like anything I had growing up. They are flesh colored, sometimes reddish and rise up from the skin only slightly. All bumps have a noticeable hole on the top of the bump and the bumps are always filled with either (A) a hard round substance, white or slightly discolored yellow or (B) a long, stringy, hard, white substance. Sometimes when removed the white hard substance is followed by watery fluid, the fluid is clear with no discoloration. Never have I removed a bump which was filled with fluid or “pimple” like puss , and never do the bumps create a pimple head. The bumps sometimes become white if left alone and the inner substance is near the surface of the skin, but it is always comes out hard or semi-hard white or whitish colored and directly from the noticeable hole at the top.

I tried to take some pictures but they do not show up nearly the same with my camera as they actually look and the zoom is not sufficient to show the bumps in detail.
The bumps started showing up around the same time or slightly after the time I began signs of Molluscum Contagiosum in pelvic region which was diagnosed and treated successfully with Healthcaremagic’s help and doctor Dr. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX And by using Retin A .05%
What is this and how do I get rid of it? Could this be the same thing?

Thank you in advance for your time, XXXXXXX
doctor
Answered by Dr. Kruti (1 hour later)
Hello,

Thanks for posting your query.

I will be glad to be of assistance. I will try to answer your queries to the the best of my efforts and in case you have any queries, please feel free to ask them.

From your description and from the past history of molluscum contagiosum that you mentioned, its most likely that you have molluscum contagiosum even this time round.

Its a viral infection and spreads by auto inoculation. That means, it spreads from one lesion to the surrounding skin and causes lesions there. It can even spread through fingers, towels etc.

I would recommend that you take treatment for it. RetinA may take longer to work but it is efficacious. Other options would be to either getting it burnt off by your dermatologist or application of Aldara cream on the lesions.


It definitely needs treatment as it can keep spreading to other areas if not treated.

Hope this was helpful to you.
In case there are any other concerns I could help you with please let me know.

Thanks and regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Mohammed Kappan
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Kruti (18 hours later)
Thank you very much for your response. To cover any other options, if it is Molluscum contagiosum, how long would it normally take for Retin A to remove the lessions? If it is not Molluscum contagiousum, what else do you think it could be? / What products to for this?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Kruti (47 minutes later)
Hello

Thanks for your response.

It is most likely molluscum contagiosum. The description that you provided clearly points towards Retin A can take Up to 3 to 6 months to show an effect. It’s a slow process.
Hence I would recommend other modalities like getting it burnt out or application of Trichloracetic acid solution once in ten days by your dermatologist. This will take a month to resolve the lesions. This is called chemical cautery and it kills the viral particles.


The only other possibility is that it could be Milia. But with the history and description it seems unlikely. The same treatments would work for Milia as well.

Hope my recommendations are useful to you.
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E
doctor
Answered by
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Dr. Kruti

Dermatologist

Practicing since :2003

Answered : 345 Questions

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History Of Molluscum Contagiosum. Developed Bumps On Shoulder And Chest. How To Get Rid Of It?

Hello,

Thanks for posting your query.

I will be glad to be of assistance. I will try to answer your queries to the the best of my efforts and in case you have any queries, please feel free to ask them.

From your description and from the past history of molluscum contagiosum that you mentioned, its most likely that you have molluscum contagiosum even this time round.

Its a viral infection and spreads by auto inoculation. That means, it spreads from one lesion to the surrounding skin and causes lesions there. It can even spread through fingers, towels etc.

I would recommend that you take treatment for it. RetinA may take longer to work but it is efficacious. Other options would be to either getting it burnt off by your dermatologist or application of Aldara cream on the lesions.


It definitely needs treatment as it can keep spreading to other areas if not treated.

Hope this was helpful to you.
In case there are any other concerns I could help you with please let me know.

Thanks and regards