Oh wow.
Alright, so I posted in the HPV board about a week ago, because...at the time that's what I was told I had. Granted this was from a doctor at an InstaCare clinic, who didn't even prescribe treatment or information or ANYTHING...so I went to my gynecologist for a second opinion.

She said I don't have warts, but instead I have Molluscum.
WTF.

She prescribed me Aldara, and I have a follow up in four weeks with her, to see if I need to be referred to a dermatologist. She said that treatment for Molloscum is basically the same as warts...

My question is for anyone that's been diagnosed with Molloscum. Generally how long did it take you to clear the infection? I've read different cases of people clearing the bumps in a few weeks with Aldara, others have had success with freezing...some have them come back quickly, others have them go away and stay gone. I'm not planning on being sexually active for some time, my boyfriend has recently left me, so right now I really just want to focus on my own health.

Is this similar to the outlook on HPV? If I maintain a healthy immune system, it will help it clear faster?

And what are the chances of spreading it to other parts of my body? My doctor didn't say anything about that, but after reading so much online I'm deathly afraid to even touch anything down there for fear of spreading it to my face or arms or anywhere else.

Welcome to our message boards, Darkerdawns!

I'm glad you posted.

You have some great questions. Unfortunately, some of them are difficult to answer as there are a lot of greys with MCV and symptoms vary from individual to individual.

The incubation period averages 2 to 3 months, but may range from 1 week to 6 months. Generally, it is a benign infection and symptoms may self-resolve. And, as you know, it may be transmitted by autoinoculation, such as touching a lesion and touching another part of the body.

Your question is excellent about how long symptoms last. We know lesions can last from 2 weeks to 4 years -- the average is 2 years. But a lot of people have reported that their symptoms have gone away in less than a a month.

Lesions may recur, but it is not clear whether this is due to reinfection, exacerbation of subclinical infection, or reactivation of latent infection.

I hope this helps.

Dharma

_________________
ASHA Moderator

DarkerDawns, i contracted this from a guy back in november. I didnt realize i had it until January when a couple of the bumps showed up. I went to the doc she said i had MC. She gave me aldara cream and i started to use it 3 times a week as directed. It got better before it got worse, but finally now most of them have disappeared. I only have 2 or 3 little ones which appear to be dead, as they are flat. The aldara cream helps I think, but you just have wait it out too. Good luck.