Molluscum Contagiosum

[chasinRT]

So I have a student that I saw this morning for "warts on his hands". Well, he appears to me to have a rip-roaring case of Molluscum Contagiosum. I called his mom, she made a dermatology appointment but it won't be until October. The lesions are on his hands and fingers, so he can't really keep them covered without wearing gloves, which isn't practical. He is in the second grade. Besides frequent hand washing and cleaning/sanitizing of classroom, what can I do to keep it from spreading to the other kids? What would you do?

[OldDude]

FYI we don't use antivirals for it.

For what? Molluscum or warts or both?

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

There just isn't any reference to warts on the entire DOH website; just genital warts, HPV immunizations, etc. I've never run across a situation where they couldn't be covered until treatment and resolution.

Chasin - is it on both hands? Could you cover the warts if you used elastic wrap like that 1" wide coban type stuff where you could weave it around the fingers and hand as needed? If not I'd be thinking about light gloves you could cut the fingertips off of, etc., something washable.

Good Lord I would HOPE the genital warts would be covered....

[Farawyn]

FYI we don't use antivirals for it.

The guy in my school had them lasered.

I wasn't sure what they did with the little kids.

Thanks.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

For what? Molluscum or warts or both?

I should say, oral antivirals, for cutaneous warts or MC. The exception being suppression for recurrent genital warts.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Good Lord I would HOPE the genital warts would be covered....

These days? Who knows..

[Farawyn]

These days? Who knows..

Dress Code Alert:

Your warts are showing!

EWWWWWWWW!!!

[kidzcare]

Dress Code Alert:

Your warts are showing!

EWWWWWWWW!!!

Gross.

[kidzcare]

my daughter had MC a few years ago and her PCP didn't prescribe anything but a derm consult. It was almost cleared up by the time we got to derm and they gave me some samples of topical stuff (don't remember what but it was a foam).

[Farawyn]

Gross.

You love me.

[kidzcare]

You love me.

True.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

Keeping it covered sounds difficult.

The child should avoid close contact with other students while the infection is active and good hand hygiene should be encouraged for everybody, with alcohol rubs readily available throughout the classroom. Additionally, disinfectant wipes should be used liberally in the classroom and other student areas.

When my kid had MC, we tried to wait it out and it just got worse and worse. We ultimately elected to treat it with the blistering agent which quickly resolved the infection.

FWIW, here's a flyer that I once put together on MC, though its references are now almost 10 years old. At the time, laser treatments were just becoming available and I didn't include them.

Molluscum Brochure.pdf

[cyc0sys]

Duct tape occlusion.