Molluscum Contagiosum—Child Care and Schools

What is molluscum contagiosum?

Molluscum contagiosum is a skin disease caused by a virus, somewhat similar to warts.

What are the signs or symptoms?

Small (2–5 mm or ¹/₁₆ of an inch to less than ¼ of an inch), flesh-colored bumps on the skin, often with a tiny, hard, indented, seedlike center

What are the incubation and contagious periods?

• Incubation period: Usually between 2 and 7 weeks but may be as long as 6 months

• Contagious period: Unknown

How is it spread?

• Person to person through close contact

• Through sharing of inanimate objects, such as dress-up clothing, or direct contact

How do you control it?

• Perform hand hygiene after touching the bumps.

• Do not share clothing or other skin contact articles.

• Avoid scratching the bumps because that may cause further spread of the virus to another site (autoinoculation). To help prevent skin disruption from any scratching that occurs, keep fingernails trimmed short. To help reduce scratching at school or a home, apply a cold compress (such as a small plastic bag of ice wrapped in a towel) to the itchy areas for no more than 15 minutes at a time.

• Usually goes away on its own in 6 to 12 months as the person develops antibodies to the virus; however, may last for years.

• Covering lesions is not necessary. Lesions not covered by clothing can be covered with a watertight bandage during activities with close skin-to-skin contact.

• In some cases, treatments may be used to destroy the bumps. However, the treatments may involve painful scraping, freezing, burning, or chemically damaging the bumps. These treatments may cause scars.

• Although molluscum contagiosum bumps are caused by a viral infection, they are very mildly contagious, spreading more often to other areas of the affected child's body rather than to other children.

Small raised bumps, sometimes with a tiny indentation in the center, are typical of molluscum contagiosum.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, COURTESY OF DANIEL P. KROWCHUK, MD

Close-up view of skin with about a dozen small circular raised bumps that are shiny and slightly red in color with dimples in the center.

Molluscum contagiosum bumps may appear white or flesh-colored on individuals with darker skin.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

Child with pimple-sized dome-shaped bumps spread around the right eye and cheek. Some bumps are white and some are flesh-colored.

What are the roles of the educator and the family?

• Perform hand hygiene after touching the bumps.

• Do not let children pick at their bumps, as this can open the skin and cause bacterial infection or spread the virus.

Exclude from educational setting?

No.