Molluscum Contagiosum

Never had heard of this virus before. Apparently it is one of the most frequently transmitted STD, though it's not really tracked/reported as an STD.

We both came down with small bumps but just looked like a few razor bumps. I (guy half) had a rash on my lower abdomen, unrelated and went to the dermatologist. He checked the rash out said, just iritation (probably from shaving) but also said a few of the bumps a little lower closer to my groin were molluscum. My wife had similar symptoms recently but they appeared soon after a wax so we assumed it to be an iritation related to that. She's heading to the doc tomorrow.

The treatment is to have them removed, our doc used a needle with anesthetic and zapped them with heat. Not really the most pleasant thing in the world. Hoping to be through this in a number of weeks. You need to go to the doc for awhile as the bumps may appear in between treatments and need to be zapped. Also going to try Tea Tree oil. So for now we are going to sit out for awhile. Wife is really turned off to swinging right now..we'll see where things lead. And how much it hurts her to have them zapped!

Once my wife has been diagnosed it's time for a few emails to play partners from the past few weeks. Not claimined they infected us, just a warning in case they see symptoms. From reading on the web, the virus is not contagious until the red bumps have appeared and many people are naturally immune. You can acquire the virus from bedding, towels as well so really hard to tell where we picked it up. It's also documented to have a 2 week to 6 month incubation period, so that makes it even more difficult to figure out.

[Miss Sunshine]

Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is a viral infection of the skin or occasionally of the mucous membranes. It is caused by a DNA poxvirus called the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV). MCV has no animal reservoir, infecting only humans. There are four types of MCV, MCV-1 to -4; MCV-1 is the most prevalent and MCV-2 is seen usually in adults and often sexually transmitted. This common viral disease has a higher incidence in children, sexually active adults, and those who are immunodeficient,[1] and the infection is most common in children aged one to ten years old.[2] MC can affect any area of the skin but is most common on the trunk of the body, arms, and legs. It is spread through direct contact or shared items such as clothing or towels.

The virus commonly spreads through skin-to-skin contact. This includes sexual contact or touching or scratching the bumps and then touching the skin. Handling objects that have the virus on them (fomites), such as a towel, can also result in infection. The virus can spread from one part of the body to another or to other people. The virus can be spread among children at day care or at school. Molluscum contagiosum is contagious until the bumps are gone-which, if untreated, may be up to 6 months or longer.

The time from infection to the appearance of lesions can range up to 6 months, with an average incubation period between 2 and 7 weeks.