{"id":1646,"date":"2018-07-27T10:30:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T08:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mediquo.com\/?p=1646"},"modified":"2020-11-27T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T06:33:58","slug":"child-caught-molluscum-contagiosum-in-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/en\/pediatrics\/child-caught-molluscum-contagiosum-in-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"My child caught molluscum contagiosum in the pool. What do I do?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one day,<\/span><b> small, pink bumps<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have suddenly appeared near your child\u2019s eye and you have no idea what it is. It stings a bit and you think they may have contracted it from the pool. Your maternal instinct has not failed you. According to scientific studies, the <\/span><b>chances of being infected by this is multiplied by three<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when sharing a towel, a sponge, or any other bathroom object. You do not have to be scared, though. Molluscum contagiosum is a v<\/span><b>ery common infection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in children that is <\/span><b>not dangerous and is cured without treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>What is molloscum contagiousum?<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Molloscum contagiosum is a <\/span><b>viral infection that manifests with a small rash on the skin<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: one or more bumps between 2 and 6 mm, pink, white or skin-colored, soft to the touch and with a sunken center. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It mainly <\/span><b>affects children between 2 and 10 years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of age due to the immaturity of their immune system. It is a <\/span><b>highly contagious<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> infection through direct contact from person to person and with objects such as towels, toys, etc. that people with the infection have used. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Between 3 and 5% of children will be infected by molloscum contagiosum<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but adolescents and adults can also contract it. For example, through sexual relations, athletes who practice contact sports such as swimming, or those who have a weaker immune system (infected with HIV or cancer treatments, for example). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the protuberances are scratched or rubbed and then rubbed against another uninfected area, the molloscum contagiosum <\/span><b>can spread throughout the body<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>The most\u00a0frequent symptoms are:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appearance of <\/span><b>round spots<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, between 2 and 6 mm in diameter in the affected area: face, chest, belly, arms, armpits, legs, groin and genital areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <b>protuberances<\/b> have relief and are pink, white or skin-toned. They may redden, swell and itch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>How long will my child have the mollusks for?<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the pediatrician or the pediatric dermatologist confirms the infection, you will be surprised to find out that the <\/span><b>molloscum contagiosum cures itself, without treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mollusks can disappear in about <strong>2 or 3 months<\/strong>; although, you must have patience as they will leave new spots as the former disappear. Therefore, the period can extend to 18 months or more, in the most extreme months. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occasionally, doctors decide to eliminate protuberances with various techniques. The most used are: scraping, freezing and laser therapy. Many others are against it, though, since they claim that it can generate more problems than solutions, since there is a risk of hurting the patient. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>How do you prevent it?<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prevention methods serve as barriers, but they are not always effective. In any case you <\/span><b>can put them to use<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Wash your hands frequently<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and have your children do so as well.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Do not touch objects<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that have been in contact with infected people. If you have to do it, always wash your hands immediately after.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Do not share personal items<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as clothes, towels, brushes, combs, etc. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are infected, <\/span><b>do not touch your wounds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and cover them with bandages. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the infection disappears, the molloscum contagiosum does not remain in the body. However, you can contract it again if you come back in contact with the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>*Content validated by the mediQuo medical team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In one day, small, pink bumps have suddenly appeared near your child\u2019s eye and you have no idea what it is. It stings a bit and you think they may have contracted it from the pool. Your maternal instinct has not failed you. According to scientific studies, the chances of being infected by this is &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/en\/pediatrics\/child-caught-molluscum-contagiosum-in-pool\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[908],"tags":[1309,1544,1546,1268],"class_list":["post-1646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pediatrics","tag-infection","tag-mollusks","tag-pool","tag-summer"],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":1646,"es":717},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1646"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9349,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646\/revisions\/9349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediquo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}