Talk:Molluscum contagiosum/Archive 1

This

"This is a derm condition -> we should get a picture 19:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)Rajab 19:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)"

There are some great photos at http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/molluscumContagiosum.htm - this site is taking a more visual approach to understanding conditions. I didn't see comments regarding the use of tea tree oil though.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Burrillr (talk • contribs) 14

53, 20 November 2006

Tea Tree Oil remedy

I've read many anecdotal reports about Tea Tree Oil, distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia, as an effective treatment for Molluscum contagiosum. Any comment? Who would fund a study on this?

Molluscum contagiosum is a self-limiting condition. As such it is difficult to tell if a particular treatment applied in an individual case was efficacious or whether lesions would have resolved spontaneously without the treatment. Only a proper prospective experimental study can resolve this question. Anecdotes are valuable in suggesting topics for research and, with responsible expert consultation, for suggesting treatment where proven remedies have failed. They do not belong in an encyclopedia, which should not tout every fad and nostrum even when some people become enthused about it and even when popular articles depict it as a miracle cure or whatever. Tea tree oil carries some risk. Wikipedia should not throw its weight behind promoting it for unproven uses. What, if any, peer reviewed published research supports using tea tree oil for molluscum contagiosum? We need references (not from health fad literature or secondary sources that duplicate each other) to continue any serious discussion of this. Myron 11:17, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

I have "cleaned up" this article. Philiphughesmd 17:59, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Self-limiting is a misnomer, if it takes years to get rid of them. I personally had it for two months. After taking tea tree oil for a few days, I went from 80 of the molluscums to zero. It's not a study, but people should do studies on it to see if there are any harmful side effects, as I personally believe it got rid of them completely.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.223.131.108 (talk • contribs) 08:37, 20 July 2006

If it were to take 10 years and eventually resolve with no adverse effects (e.g. increase in heart disease) in the meantime, that would still be "self-limiting", albeit over a very long duration. The implication being that there is no absolute need to treate as most cases will resolve over a long enough period of time. David Ruben Talk 07:47, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

I think the emotionally dehabilitating aspects of this horrible disease count as an adverse heath effect. Most people WILL use multiple medications on themselves to get rid of the disease. 20 July 2006

re Tea Tree oil - a quick search on PubMed the National Institute for Health abstracting service for "Molluscum contagiosum tea tree oil" found no published papers to support this. Without WP:Reliable sources to back up the claim of either its use or its effectivelness (whether or not true) then, as an encyclopedia, it has no place within wikipedia. Without being able to WP:Cite to WP:Verify, any assertion is merely a personal opinion and as such is banned under WP:No original research policy. (Please read the relevant linked policies and also sign your talk-page postings with 4 tildes, like this ~~~~).

So if "contributor cannot provide a study verifying this", as you have so stated in the article itself, then this will tend to get deleted on sight. I agree though that generally it is better to improve a problematic section of article rather than just deleting it but, as I indicate above, I too found no credible source to verify this. If you can find a suitable source, I suggest you post it here in the talk page for other editors to discuss. David Ruben ^Talk 08:07, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Images

This is a derm condition -> we should get a picture 19:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)Rajab 19:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

There are some great photos at http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/molluscumContagiosum.htm - this site is taking a more visual approach to understanding conditions. I didn't see comments regarding the use of tea tree oil though.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Burrillr (talk • contribs) 14:53, 20 November 2006

Wantohelp 05:12, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Treatment

Most of this section references a secondary source which in turn references other material. Almost all primary studies studied within this secondary study showed that adverse affects of pain and blistering were common when treating MC with cantharidin. This is a material fact, highly relevant to the article and should be emphasised in this section (not just that there were adverse affects, but what those affects were). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 176.253.92.172 (talk) 20:59, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

Conzerol

I have noticed that the reference for Conzerol is actually a WebMd forum post by a user. Is this really an acceptable source? Anybody can post anything true or false to a forum. I think the reference needs to be stronger. Any thoughts? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mecklar75 (talk • contribs) 05:18, 13 February 2014 (UTC)

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar as a treatment should be removed from this article unless someone can find a better reference. The reference to the article "Adolescent Health Curriculum of the University of Southern California, retrieved 7 June 2006", discuses use of Vinegar for treating HPV, but no where does it talk about using vinegar for molluscum. For molluscum it recommends "opening the lesion with a needle and expressing the material inside. Treatment with trichoracetic acid following opening of the lesion can also be done." Is acetic acid (vinegar) close enough to trichoracetic acid to be used as a substitute? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.107.183.199 (talk • contribs) 05:31, 12 June 2007

Zinc-bacitracin remedy

Absent citation of credible scientific evidence for zinc-bacitracin ointment effectiveness, I have 'reverted' to remove such a claim.Myron 00:18, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Cimetidine (brand name Tagamet)

Molluscum can be treated with oral/liquid cimetidine, but you have to be EXTREMELY consistant with it. If a dose is missed, it will relapse. My 2.5yr old son had one spot near his armpit for over a year that suddenly went to stage 3/ruptured and it created hundreds all over his body. After begging and pleading for some sort of treatment, the dermatologist finally volunteered this medicine, but cautioned that it only works in less than 80% of cases (I'll take those odds!) and we had to be very diligent about the dosage. 2 months later it was gone. We also covered any open/ruptured spots with waterproof bandaids so when he bathed the open sore wouldn't spread the virus. Although I can't speak to the actual treatment being sold on the website, www.molluscum.com is a good site for overall info on the virus itself - its cycle, appearance, etc.Wantohelp 05:12, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Libido effect

The claim that molluscum contagiosum infection increases libido is sensational, strange, without mechanistic explanation and unsupported by reports in peer-reviewed medical journals as far as I can tell. The website specifically cited touts a commercial product and may not lend credibility to the claim. I'm removing the claim and invite legitimate support to accompany any reinstatement. Myron 03:43, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Saliva

The STD doctor tells me that it can't be passed through saliva. It's a dermal infection, it doesn't reach your bloodstream or your insides otherwise. I received confirmation for this from other doctors at the clinic and research in peer-reviewed journals. Also, I used common sense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 18:16, 23 September 2007 (talk • contribs) 74.12.161.110

Natural history (duration)

User:Drq100's recent edit has adjusted the described duration that the contition may last, from "if untreated, may be up to 6 months or longer" to "if untreated can be expected to last an average of 18-30 months, sometimes longer". Current references from the Infobox give the following:

• MedlinePlus Encyclopedia: 000826 starts with "lesions may persist from a few months to a few years" and in the Expectations (prognosis) section states "Individual lesions of molluscum contagiosum usually disappear within about 2 - 3 months. Complete disappearance of all lesions generally occurs within about 6 - 18 months"
• derm/270 at eMedicine under Medical care notes "Any one lesion is present for about 2 months" and under Physical description section "Lesions generally are self-limited but can persist for several years"

The provided references, to date, therefore suggest a distinction be made between individual spots and the overal outbreak, but "up to 6 months" is overly optimistic and "18-30" months is longer than generally accepted for most cases. Hence I have expanded and ammended along lines of "if untreated, whilst individual lesions may last 2 or 3 months, the outbreak usually lasts between 6 to 18 months but may last several years".David Ruben ^Talk 23:20, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

The Prodigy knowledgebase (July 2003) reference (the 1st footnote) gives further infomation on durations:

"Spontaneous resolution usually occurs within 18 months, but this can take from 6 months to 5 years [Tyring, 2003]. The mean duration of each lesion is 8 months, but autoinoculation leads to new lesions [Sladden and Johnston, 2004]. One study found that 16% of people had spontaneous clearance at 1 year." So I'll try and work in what are conflicting advice as to its natural prognosis. The details on the 2 refs made are:

• Sladden, M.J. and Johnston, G.A. (2004) Common skin infections in children. British Medical Journal 329(7457), 95-99.
• Tyring, S.K. (2003) Molluscum contagiosum: the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 189(Suppl 3), S12-S16.

David Ruben ^Talk 23:44, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

On reading the Sladden article though, this quotes on Weller (PMID 10591712) which indicates that mean outbreak (not single lesion) is 8 months. See edit histories of sorting out this misquoting of details by one paper to another. Overall edit change so far is this. David Ruben ^Talk 18:47, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Request for comment Lemon myrtle

Can others please look at the following 2 refs and help reach consensus on how the effect of Lemon myrtle on the skin should be described. I view the summary points from the references of "very toxic effect against human cell lines", "cellular necrosis (to 15%)" & "evaluation of the toxicity effects of lemon myrtle oil" as warranting describing its effects as "may damage normal skin". User:Drq100 has twice changed this to "may irritate normal skin".

• Hayes AJ, Markovic B (2002). "Toxicity of Australian essential oil Backhousia citriodora (Lemon myrtle). Part 1. Antimicrobial activity and in vitro cytotoxicity". Food Chem. Toxicol. 40 (4): 535–43. PMID 11893412.
• Hayes AJ, Markovic B (2003). "Toxicity of Australian essential oil Backhousia citriodora (lemon myrtle). Part 2. Absorption and histopathology following application to human skin". Food Chem. Toxicol. 41 (10): 1409–16. PMID 12909275.

This follows on from User:Drq100 pushing to equate a valid study on a 10% strength solution, to a later homeopathic preparation (stating without supoporting references that it was more effective and allowing the existing citation to seem to appear to support this, as well as spaming for the product's website), see 25 Aug 21 Sept. David Ruben ^Talk 23:40, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Vinegar as supposed treatment

There is absolutely no evidence anywhere that soaking molluscum with vinegar is of any benefit. The heading should be removed. Your insistence on keeping it there is violiating all of the Wiki rules you're so fond of citing.

Drq100 04:17, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

On this I now agree, following User:Apotheosis247 edit observing that "the referenced site did not contain the relevant information and was removed", and so with absence of supporting Citation to Verify, information appropriate for removal.David Ruben ^Talk 12:41, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Cantharone

I was diagnosed with MC 10-19-2007 I was given cantharone a drug containing cantharidin. This article states that cantharidin is not available in the USA? Wrong. This article also does not mention trichloroacetic acid.

I have listed links below. http://www.dormer.ca/Phy_Pages/Wart_Removers.aspx http://www.resnikskininstitute.com/medicaltherapies/CantharoneTreatmentofWartsandMolluscumContagiosum.html http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec10/ch122/ch122b.html Trichloroacetic acid links http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/molluscum-contagiosum-treatment-overview

This is my two cents. Cantharone is a dermatologist recomended treatment and usually leaves no scars and is the preferred treatment in children. To say cantharidin is not available in the USA is an outright mistake and to not have the drug name Cantharone listed as its own subtopic while having a whole subtopic for Lemon Myrtle is amazing. Ask a dermatologist if they think lemon myrtle is a better treatment and see what they say. I have it on my MC as I type this. Cantharone can be used for warts as well but works better on MC because warts are usually deeper in the skin and may need repeat treament on the same area. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jaja6009 (talk • contribs) 22:18, 20 October 2007

Indeed Merc & MedMD refs you provide confirm use in USA. However, here in UK I have never heard of Cantharone (Cantharidin) and it is not listed in the British National Formulary. So no doubt that some mention ought to be made, but limited in its extent as per WP:UNDUE and that wikipedia should not be US-centric (nor for that matter UK-centric) David Ruben ^Talk 00:14, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

I've added Astringent section which lists cantharidin and trichloroacetic acid. David Ruben ^Talk 00:24, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

I had MCV, now cleared, my dermatologist initially used Cantharone to clear the infection until I requested he switch to Liquid Nitrogen as the Cantharone was intolerably itchy. This article says Cantharone isn't available in the US, is there any citation for this? I've added a request for a citation around the potentially incorrect area. I've added the dubious tag to the offending area due to my contrary experience and the contrary experiences of others listed here. Plhofmei (talk) 08:37, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Given that you added that due to your personal experience, I've removed it.- (User) WolfKeeper (Talk) 15:00, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Given the fact that first had experience of a number of people in this discussion state to the contrary there should at least be a citation of this "fact". Can one be found? Requested Citation. Plhofmei (talk) 16:36, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Found a medical website which reports canthraridin can be mixed with flexible collodion and used in this form. This, along with the numerous first-hand empirical observations should resolve his dispute. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research#Primary.2C_secondary.2C_and_tertiary_sources Plhofmei (talk) 17:15, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Stimulated by light burns?

I've got a couple suspiciously similar things on my fingers that definitely appeared after minor accidental cigarette burns... and stayed. It's been a couple years. They don't bother me enough, nor do I have the time to battle through my daft general care practitioner and HMO to finally get to a dermatologist. In any case, I've heard that the wait in my area is around six months, and I won't even be here anymore by the time that comes around, so they're probably staying untreated in the near future... Just wondering, though, will the annoying things fall off eventually? Or do I have something else entirely? Symptoms seem to match 100%, except for seeming to appear to stay after minor hand burns... 128.195.186.43 (talk) 05:23, 25 February 2008 (UTC)Adieu

You should probably read about hypertrophic scars, too. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:45, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Treatment

There's been some reverting going on around the removal and reinsertion of material that deals with treatment. The concerns were that the material was not cited and that it read too much like a how to guide, for example using the word "should". I agree and after discussion at my talk page I'm going to remove the uncited material (however I'll leave in the previously removed cited material). The relevant policies are WP:V and WP:NOT#HOWTO. I very much hope that the reverting will stop and that this can be discussed here. Thanks much to all who have put hard work into this article! delldot ∇. 17:20, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Thanks much for providing a source, Wolfkeeper. I'm not seeing the information cited in that article though. Can you quote the relevant section or change the wording in the article to match what it says in the source? Thanks much, delldot ∇. 17:59, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Since there was no response here, and since I don't see that info in the source, I'm removing it until a source that verifies that info can be provided. Sorry if I'm missing something obvious here. delldot ∇. 15:21, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

i have just deleted the section on rx w/ duct tape. it was well cited, but that is wholly irrelevant. wikipedia must not and does not tell anyone how to treat themselves. once again, if a dermatologist tells his patients to treat their mollusca w/ duct tape, that is up to him/her.m.d's have malpractice insurance. wikipedia 'goes naked'.imagine this scenario: somebody diagnoses their skin lesion as a molluscum, and rxs as described. but it's not. need i go on?Toyokuni3 (talk) 06:14, 13 October 2009 (UTC)