Attack of the Molluscum Contagiosum

Huh??? What's that???
Seems to be a very popular question these days around here. A couple of Fridays ago Andy's school called me and told me there were some bumps on his elbows, hands and knees that look like chicken pox, but the school day was almost over so they sent him home at normal time. I took him to the doctor soon after and chicken pox could not be confirmed because there just wasn't enough evidence suggesting that. I was told to bring him back Monday morning. So I cancelled everything until I had more answers. Brought him back last Monday, doctor said it wasn't chicken pox but didn't know what it was. He gave him a release to go back to school and referred me to a dermatologist if it didn't clear up soon on it's own. I will be honest, I gave it a couple of days because I would have to pay for the specialist out of pocket since I could not find a dermatologist within reasonable distance that took his insurance. The hope was that this would go away. The next day the school sent Andy home because of the blisters. I finally bit the bullet and made the appointment for the dermatologist. They were able to make an appointment for Friday.

The word from the dermatologist after a thorough look, Molluscum. In short, this is a viral infection that hits the surface of the skin. It's similar to warts, it's in the pox family of viruses but nothing serious like chicken or smallpox. This is commonly spread among young children in daycare and schools from direct contact, and from sharing clothing, towels, ect. Until his little immune system totally fights of this virus we may be dealing with outbreaks of this. This could takes months to a year or 2. There are probably many kids who have had or have this and it was never detected. Very few people I have talked to have heard of this and know what it is, which is leading to a problem.

The dermatologist gave him a release to go back to school, explained to me that this is nothing that should keep kids out. I sent him this morning, he was never sent home. The remaining bumps are crusted over, the rest are healed. When I told Eric's senior therapist about all of this, and gave her the pamphlet that the dermatologist's office provided I thought we would be set. I get a call later that day saying that she is going to discuss this with her boss that was on call for the weekend and the therapist that was supposed to come and see what would happen with therapy. The concern, the fact that this is contagious. The decision makers decided to cancel therapy for the rest of the weekend. I called this morning and they wanted more info. I spelled out the name of the condition for them so they could research it on the internet, I had the dermatologist's office FAX the pamphlet so they could read it. I called around noon and was told it was decided to give it a week for Andy to heal and make sure he don't break out more, then a decision will be made first thing next Monday morning. So now we sit and wait, and Eric is not getting therapy. Without boring everyone with my full opinion on this, I will just say I am not happy. Considering everything I stated above about Andy getting better and getting treatment, the fact that the worst that would happen is if someone had a very weak immune system the rash would get really bad. He is not scratching them so they are not spreading as much as they could. This is not bothering him, and he is carrying on with his little life as he knows it. It could be a while before this is totally cleared up. I understand the close contact they have with Eric and all, but Eric don't have it! I'm going to continue calling around to see if we can make this wait a little shorter so Eric can continue with his very needed therapy.