Molluscum Contagiosum is a common skin condition that is caused by a virus known as Molluscum Contagiosum Virus (MCV). It causes small bumps to appear on the skin and is spread by physical contact. This can either be direct, skin-to-skin or by coming into contact with the same surfaces as an infected person. Some of the most common ways it spreads are by sharing towels, blankets, or clothing.​

it’s not a serious condition, but it can be uncomfortable and embarrassing.

Most common in children, Molluscum Contagiosum affects adults as well, especially if those with weakened immune systems. In healthy adults, it often comes from sexual contact with an affected person.

How Molluscum Contagiosum spreads

As you might be able to tell from the name, Molluscum is very contagious. Just touching someone who is infected is enough to contract it yourself. Once you do get it, you have it and can spread it to others until all the bumps have gone away.

Just some of the ways you can contract it: swimming pools, hot tubs and saunas, gym equipment, doing your laundry with an infected person’s.

It’s a fairly mild skin condition in the grand scheme of things, and usually clears up without treatment, but it can get itchy and cause you to scratch, meaning you can easily spread it to other parts of your body and to others.

How to stop it from spreading

It’s a fairly mild skin condition in the grand scheme of things, and usually clears up without treatment, but it can get itchy and cause you to scratch, meaning you can easily spread it to other parts of your body and to others.

What you can do to treat it

Most people might tell you to wait it out. While it’s true that it will go away on its own in most cases, it can take between 6 and 18 months to clear on average, and has been known to persist for years. That entire time, you’ll have to take steps daily to keep it from spreading to others or to other parts of your body, which can prove to be an exhausting process.

Many treatment options are harsh, cause pain and discomfort, and can even leave permanent scarring. For this reason, more and more people are choosing gentle, topical treatments that help to soothe discomfort and help to remove bumps.