Posted by
TimB
19 yrs ago
Our son, almost 5, has little bumps that look like warts. They spread on his arm, torso, and back so we took him to the Foreign Ward of a hospital here in Shanghai. They were the 3rd doctors who said the warts needed to be CUT off and it would be painful. It was painful indeed, and I was only watching and holding down my son.
The "wounds" seem to be healing, but I am not convinced the infected warts will not come back.
The problem is, he now has the same thing on his leg. The Dr in the US called them Water Bumps, but I'm not so sure. They get a little bit white inside which I'm told indicates an infection. Apparently it is common here?
Is there an alternative way to remove these? My son will not step foot into a hospital at this point and I don't want to live through that again myself. Where can we go?
Thanks
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cd
19 yrs ago
If they are warts then you don't need to do anything, they will disappear on their own although it may take up to 2 years. Failing that you can get them frozen off, which can be done in the GP's office. Or try the old wives tale of covering with a banana skin each night. You can also get wart creams over the counter in chemists which often work but take a little while.
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Have always used battery acid out of the car battery - put a drop on the end of a toothpick and touch the wart - won't hurt, repeat about 3 times and the wart will disappear after a few weeks.
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TimB
19 yrs ago
Our Pediatrician back in the US said they'd go away on their own too, but the spread like crazy instead. They started itching him for some reason, so he scratched and they got infected. This probably lead to the spreading.
I remember getting a wart frozen off as a kid. That's what I'm hoping to do if this gets out of hand again, but everyone in SH seems to want to cut them off. An AWFUL experience.
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1.They usually go away on the own.
2.Placebo work great on these things. Use a "medicated" band aid.
3.Battery acic shoud work, but most doctors prefer salicylic acid. Put a drop or two onto it, cover it at night and use a nail file to file off the top the next day.
Frozen and scrapping works but as you see it can come back. As a matter of fact, they often recurr with ALL removal methods.
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It sounds exactly like what my daughter suffered with for a year, my first year in HK. It's called Molluscum Contagiosum.She was only 5 when she got it on her inner thighs, torso and tummy. It was awful because it's spread by direct contact and she would scratch in her sleep, making them weep and bleed. I tried everything, the acid doesn't work on these, they are to small and mutiple, so you risk getting it on your son's skin and that can be very painful.I had to bandage her arms and legs every night to stop her scratching.Doctor told me they would go eventually, but it could take 2 yrs.Eventually after searching on the internet many times, I read that zinc had been proven to improve them. So evey night before the bandages, I soaked her skin in sudocream (uk) and they were gone within about a month. Now maybe this worked or maybe their time was up, but if your son ends up as bad as my daughter, please try it.
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my daughter had this last year too when she was six. i took her to her pediatrician thinking it was just a regular allergy. she had it behind one knee. i knew it was not that simple when the doctor suddenly said it was good that i brought her in sooner than later. he said it was molluscum contagiosum and that you can get it from swimming pools. right then and there he said he would have to freeze it with liquid nitrogen, i think. they first swabbed some topical anaesthesia on the site then freeze burned each little thing. the doctor said to leave the burned scabs alone and let them fall off on their own. it took about a week for them to fall off and she hasn't had it again since.
we were apparently lucky that i had taken her to the doctor before it had spread. i advise you to take her to a doctor who will be willing to do this. our pediatrician is jonathan foster at century square. the best!!!
good luck.
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I know for a fact that my daughter got it from our swimming pool as I found out my neighbours child also had it and passed it to my daughter.bananrama, you were very lucky to catch it at such an early stage, cause I don't think it would have been possible to freeze burn as many as my daughter had.
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yes, thomson, from reading your post i reckon we were indeed lucky to have had it checked at the initial stage. she had about 10 little bumps behind her knee that i had been treating with savlon for about a month at that point. she has asthma of the skin you see, so rashes in the folds of her elbows and knees come and go especially in hot weather when perspiration collects. but i was getting a bit worried as they were not responding to the usual creams i had.
i also found out that my neighbor's kids had it and were most probably the ones who spread it via the pool. their doctor from the u.s. told them to just leave it alone and let it come off on its own. problem is, they were giving it to other kids! i wonder why the chlorine does not kill it? guess they aren't putting enough? then again, there really are all sorts of gunk you can get from pools even the ones that seemingly appear well maintained.
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There might be hundreds of different skin diseases in children- even a board certified Dermatologist would not be able to give you a definite answer simply listens to you description.
You better go to a Dermatologist to make sure what is going on.
Nevertheless, if it is WART- it is caused by virus infection which is very unlikely to be killed by any of antiseptic medications. Many strong acids e.g. salicylic acid, trichloroacetic acid, etc should work, but should be done by a Medical Doctor instead of yourself, to avoid any chance making it worse.
Advice from a plastic surgeon.
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cd
19 yrs ago
I think it must depend on your doctor, I have known a few kids with molluscum, in fact my daughter has a few small ones, and the doctors have all said to leave them alone and they will go eventually.
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Problem is it's highly contageous; that's why a lot of kids get it in the summer months when everyone is at the pool. And for some kids it can cause so much more hassle and itching, just like the original post of timB and thomson. Your child is lucky if they can tolerate leaving them alone till they decide to fall off on their own. Some kids will scratch and scratch and then wake up with blood stained pjs and sheets.
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TimB
19 yrs ago
Update
The bumbs started spreading like wildfire. We're using diaper rash cream since it's the only thing we can find with Zinc Oxide. Not sure if 10% Zinc is enough to make a difference though. Anyone have a suggestion?
We went to a different hospital, World Link, and saw a real Dermatologist. It was first rate and the price reflected as such.
She confirmed it to be Molloscum and said freezing would cause more pain because the liquid would irritate the skin. She was nice enough to use a topical anesthetic and a little scraper instead of the scissor-like device. My son was quite appreciative and agreed to return.
Since there are so many bumps (arms, legs, torso) she said it is best to come back for a few treatments. That way they can get at the smaller ones and make sure they get them all. Never mind the money it will cost each time. :)
So hopefully with the romoval and Zinc, we will get rid of this.
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I am so sorry to hear that things have gotten worse, TimB! It's a pity that the first doctor you took your son to did not freeze them from the start. That would have probably arrested it and stopped it from spreading. But my advice would be the same as I said earlier. Have them frozen off, even if you have to do them in batches. That is the way to really get rid of them. They should always apply a topical anaesthetic prior to the procedure to make the experience more tolerable. Good luck!
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When there are so many, I would be very worried about leaving him with pock like scars, especialy when they are being scraped off. Did you ask the dermatologist this question? Just remember, they will go away and they are harmless, they should tell you this before you decide to have any treatment done. I think the important thing is to stop them spreading and becoming inflamed, so he must know that he can't scratch, and cover them in bed if you have to. I feel so bad for you cause I've been there and I know exactly how you feel. Just try not to let your son see that you're worried.
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