Molluscum contagiosum is a virus that causes papular lesions to appear. Many people who come into contact with it are immune and do not see any wart forming. Instead, non-immune individuals observe the manifestation of small pink vault-shaped bumps, which usually appear within 2 to 8 weeks following infection. While they are not painful, they are unsightly to the eye and can cause some embarrassment. To learn more about how to treat injuries (at home or at the doctor), read on.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Treating Papular Lesions at Home
Step 1. Use Betadine to eliminate the virus
It is an effective iodine-based antiseptic that helps fight the virus and eliminate lesions. You can get it at the pharmacy without a prescription.
- To use it, moisten your hands with warm water, then massage it on the affected area for 5 minutes. Repeat the treatment every day until the lesions are gone. It is not recommended for use in case of allergy to the active ingredients.
- Alternatively, you can apply a pure iodine solution directly to the lesions with the help of a cotton pad. First it is recommended to prick each wart with a sterilized needle, in order to promote the absorption of iodine.
Step 2. Dry the lesions with apple cider vinegar
It is an effective home remedy for drying and removing warts. The acid attacks them, causing them to detach from the surrounding skin and eliminate the virus.
- To use it, soak a cotton ball and place it on the wart. Cover everything with a patch for 24 hours.
- When you remove the patch, the wart should be gone, but it may have been replaced by a scab (which should go away in a couple of days).
- Apple cider vinegar can be used on all types of warts, except those caused by a sexually transmitted disease such as condyloma acuminate.
Step 3. Apply milkweed cream to dissolve warts
In this plant there is a proteolytic enzyme (i.e. an enzyme that breaks down proteins) capable of digesting and dissolving warts. Look for a cream in a pharmacy or on the internet and apply it to the affected area at least 4 times a day.
Step 4. Soften the warts with salicylic acid
It is an active ingredient used to treat less severe skin disorders and can be obtained without a prescription. It works by softening the keratin (a protein that forms the structure of the skin) found in the warts themselves and surrounding skin. Once the lesions have softened, remove them with a pumice stone or cardboard file.
Step 5. Use an astringent cream to dry the warts
Certain astringent chemicals (found in both over-the-counter and prescription creams) can be applied to lesions to dry and shrink them. Some of the more effective ingredients include potassium chloride and cantharidin.
Step 6. Try a retinoid-containing cream
Applying it every day can help remove warts, as it stops their growth. Retinoid creams can be bought without a prescription, while a dermatologist can prescribe those with a higher concentration.
Step 7. Try a silver nitrate ointment
It works by destroying the various layers that form the wart tissue, which are very thin. Apply it every day until completely healed.
Step 8. Eliminate warts with a banana
Just like milkweed cream, it contains a proteolytic enzyme that digests and dissolves warts. Mash a ripe banana with a fork and apply it to the affected area at least twice a day. Over time, the warts should start to disappear.
Step 9. Try using lemon juice to get rid of the virus
The citric acid in lemon juice contains high amounts of vitamin C, which is believed to be effective in eliminating the virus. Apply fresh juice to the warts at least 3 times a day, until completely healed.
Step 10. Cover the warts with minced garlic
Garlic contains a substance called allicin, which has antiviral properties that eliminate a broad spectrum of viruses, including molluscum contagiosum, responsible for warts.
Use a garlic grinder and apply it directly to the affected area. Secure it with a plaster or tape and let it sit for 24 hours. Remember to change the garlic and patch every day
Part 2 of 3: Professional Remedies
Step 1. Try cryotherapy to freeze warts
This surgery involves the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy the lesions. Following treatment, a blister may form in place of the wart, but it should fall off within 2-4 weeks.
- Remember that cryotherapy can be a bit painful: applying liquid nitrogen can cause burning or tingling on the treated area, which can persist for a few minutes following the treatment.
- Furthermore, it is important to remember that this treatment has possible complications, including scarring or loss of pigmentation in the affected area.
Step 2. Learn about electric drying
It is a medical treatment for warts that involves using a probe to send electrical shocks to the lesion. Electricity causes the blood vessels inside the wart to disappear, causing it to disappear.
Step 3. To get rid of multiple warts, opt for the pulsed dye laser
It is a fast and effective treatment for those suffering from multiple injuries. The laser destroys warts and the red blood cells that feed them by means of heat.
- The skin around the wart can take up to 2 weeks to heal, but there should be no scarring or pigmentation changes.
- The pulsed dye laser is fast and efficient, but the cost makes it less affordable than other options.
Step 4. Consider an antigen injection
Sometimes dermatologists suggest a treatment that involves injecting mumps, candida, or ringworm antigens into the affected area. They stimulate the immune system to create antibodies that can fight the viral infection.
Part 3 of 3: Learn about the Warts Caused by Molluscum Contagiosum
Step 1. Learn to recognize warts by sight and touch
These are vault-shaped pink bumps that can appear anywhere on the body. They tend to grow in clusters, leading to the constitution of pear-shaped or dome-shaped clusters.
- The distinguishing feature of warts? They have a visible hole or spot that is exactly in the center of the bump. The medical term for this phenomenon is "central umbilication".
- Warts are not painful to touch, but the virus can trigger an immune response, causing itchiness in the area of the lesion and surrounding skin.
Step 2. Find out how the infection occurs
This virus is contagious, so it can be passed from one person to another.
- The virus can be transmitted through inanimate objects capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as towels, bed sheets, handles, clothes, and so on. Contagion can also occur through sexual transmission.
- The virus can also pass from one part of the body to another by self-injection. This happens when scratching or touching an already existing wart and then other parts of the body, causing multiple lesions to form.
Step 3. Find out if you are at risk
This common viral infection mainly affects the following individuals:
- Children. Children are particularly prone to self-injection and may have extensive clusters of lesions. Contagion occurs more easily through direct skin contact, but children can also contract the virus by touching objects such as toys, clothes, towels and sheets. It can also spread in water, so little ones often get this infection by swimming in a public swimming pool.
- Sexually active adults. The infection often occurs during sexual intercourse, affecting the genitals, buttocks, lower abdomen and inner thigh. In rare cases, it also occurs on the lips, mouth and eyelids.
- People with immunodeficiency. People with weakened immune systems from HIV, cancer treatment, or prolonged use of steroids are more vulnerable to molluscum contagiosum infection.
Step 4. Take steps to prevent contagion
Since warts are contagious and can affect other parts of the body as well, an infected person should take several precautions to prevent spread or transmission to another person:
- Try to cover bumps with waterproof clothing or bandages, especially before engaging in activities where you share gear or skin contact, such as swimming and wrestling, may occur.
- Keep the areas affected by the bumps clean and change the bandages every day or when they get dirty.
- Do not scratch or rub the warts. Wash your hands regularly with antibacterial soap.
- Do not shave the areas affected by bumps, as the razor could immediately spread the virus from one part of the body to the other.
Advice
- You can strengthen immunity to warts caused by molluscum contagiosum by eating healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Papaya, oranges, broccoli, lemons, milk, yogurt, carrots, squash, cauliflower, spinach, cheese, butter and liver are rich in carotenoids, vitamin C and tocopherol. The body needs it to carry out various biochemical reactions that prevent the virus from reproducing.
- You can also strengthen immunity to warts by ingesting a tablespoon of olive oil every morning on an empty stomach.
