Molluscum Contagiosum

[Crazy Baby]

I am a director currently faced with this decision. Ive decided its not worth the risk and I'm willing to take on a challenge from children's services (who has custody and is trying to place the child with us).
1. the child is 3, 3 year olds dont do a great job with hand washing, they are in close contact, share dress up clothes and a water table, roll around in the floor, snuggle up with the stuffed animals etc.
2. the child's torso is completely covered in lesions
3. 3 year olds do not keep bandaids on a cut, let alone a torso of bandages

My question is this...for those (including doctors) who state that despite being highly contagious, Mollusum is not that harmful or is no big deal, how is being covered in wartlike bumps for up to 4 years not a big deal? To a child who cant participate in sports, to a little 6 year old girl who has to go to school with these on her face. I'd rather my child have chicken pox or a horrible flu than to see the damage this disease will cause to a child's psyche. Moreover, these lesions can leave scars. Please explain this rationale to me.

I don't know why it is played off as not a big deal. I would never wish this on any child. It can stick around for a while and parents cannot have their kids out of childcare for that long. It is a conundrum indeed.

Sorry that I cannot offer more insight on this. I ended up terming this child. Not only because the parents brought the kid to daycare without telling me about the virus, but also because after speaking with several people who knew the lady, no one had anything positive to say about her. It just wasn't going to work for my business at the time.

Molluscum can be contained as long as it is covered up and the infected child isn't putting it in water that is shared with others, but like you said that is difficult to do all of the time.

[AmyKidsCo]

Does your state have any exclusion guidelines for it? I did a 30 second search and WI doesn't, but if I were faced with the situation I'd do a deeper search and contact licensing for their input.

[adnilwis]

My daughter has it and has for well over a year now. On her belly and down one arm. No one including her brother has gotten it and they bathe together and I use the same washcloth for both of them but not the same towel. Her belly obviously is always covered but she's been wearing short sleeves now and some aren't covered. I haven't told my daycare parents about it and none have asked. Her Dr told me it was highly contagious but never said I needed to keep them covered at all times.

[Lawson2]

I just posted this not too long ago...

The family I used to nanny for and now occasionally watch during the summer have/had molluscum- although the mom never mentioned it to me. It was on their knees, multiple spots. My son developed one spot on his knee soon after being exposed to the boys. Winter came, and my son's spot was still there and then it grew into three spots (and one on his back). I took him to the doctor and they said it was highly contagious, but nothing to fret about. They said to let it run its course. I wasn't about to do that for a couple of reasons... 1) I was pregnant and didn't want the baby to get it
2) I didn't want to expose other children
3) I didn't want it to spread on my son, which it was slowly doing
In the end, I covered my son's molluscum with Apple cider vinegar every night. It burned his heathy skin, but cleared them up in a couple of weeks.
BUT... What a nightmare. I ended up getting a few (and yes, in adults they migrate to other areas. It ended up on my inner thigh and lower stomach. Thank goodness nowhere else). My mother thinks she now has it from my son (before we knew what it was and she was exposed).
We had to go to the doctor, which cost me a copay. Luckily, we didn't have to go to the dermatologist, but we had to be extremely diligent about treating it every night and covering it every day...
Now... I am nervous to see the family again. The mother is oblivious to anything the kids have....