How To Get Rid of Molluscum Contagiosum
Does your child have a molluscum contagiosum?
Let me guess, you’ve probably tried everything under the sun to treat this skin infection? Yes, this was me too and it wasn’t fun!
After spending so much money on creams, medication, natural remedies, and oils not knowing which one worked and which one didn’t, I finally found the perfect combination to get rid of molluscum contagiosum!
Not only does this molluscum remedy work but it also stops the spread of the virus!!
This is huge and if you’re reading this then you probably know why! If you’re one of those lucky parents dealing with this skin infection then you know ALL too well that once your one kid gets it, the other children in your family will soon have it as well!
So, let’s get down to it!
What exactly is molluscum contagiosum?
Molluscum contagious is small, raised, skin-colored or pink lesions found on the body. The CDC says that they are caused by the poxvirus and are a mild skin disease. You can read more about that here.
These skin lesions can appear anywhere on the body but are rarely found on the feet or palms of hands. This disease is commonly found at daycares and swimming pools.
Molluscum is more common in children between the ages of 1 and 10 years old. The biggest problem with molluscum contagious is how long it can take to disappear!
How long will it take to go away once treated?
Typically, molluscum contagious can take anywhere between 6-12 months to go away. In some cases, even up to 4 years!
Now come on, who has time for that?
And let’s be honest here, if your child has this on parts of their body that can be seen to the world, it can be very embarrassing for them. As a parent, you don’t want to wait for months or even years for these lesions to disappear!
Treatments for molluscum contagiosum
There are many creams and “treatments” out there on the market and trust me when I tell you, I’ve tried THEM ALL!
Treatments include expensive creams, apple cider vinegar, prescription meds, and even laser therapy! Our doctor told us to just wait it out! Yes, this was his answer and I was shocked! He said there’s not much you can do for them and he was right…until I found an answer!
How to treat molluscum naturally
Disclaimer: Remember, I am not a doctor, just a mom who has an immunocompromised daughter and we have battled every infection under the sun!. I can’t prevent, cure, or diagnose any illness. Always be sure to ask your doctor for more information and what they recommend!
Like I said earlier, I tried it all on my little girl. We were lucky that it was only on her lower stomach/side area and not her face. If your child has this disease on their facial area, I would ask your doctor first. Essential oils are not good to use near the eyes, especially hot oils like Oregano so, please use caution.
My daughter was suffering from molluscum contagiosum for almost 6 months! We tried every cream on Amazon, everything I could think of! And she eventually passed her lovely disease on to her sister!
That’s when I had enough!
I read in a forum about lemongrass oil treating molluscum contagious and tried a few drops but it didn’t seem to do the trick. Then I read about the combination of oregano oil mixed with lemongrass and how this can kill warts and viral infections! Tada! I found the perfect combination!
Recipe for Molluscum contagious treatment
After much trial and error, here is the recipe I used on my daughter that kicked her molluscum to the curb:
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (or calendula, or any carrier oil)
- 3-4 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 1-2 drop of oregano essential oil
Mix this up in a small container and apply it to the area with a q-tip. This should not hurt your child if it is mixed properly with the carrier oil! The oregano is a hot oil so always be sure to keep this oil away from your child’s hands or face. Always use caution when using hot oils like oregano and keep stored away from children.
Cover it with their clothing or a small bandage of it’s in an area that you don’t want them to rub the mixture off. Do this at least once a day but twice is even better!
**This mixture will work! However, the lesions will get red and almost look like they will pop before they get better. Be patient because once they get like this, they will go away! This means the oils are working and doing their job! When the lesions are red and blister-like, they are contagious so remember to keep them covered at all times with clothing or a bandage.
After using this treatment on my daughter, all of her lesions went away after a few weeks, and guess what the best part is??
They didn’t spread or return anywhere else!!
That was the biggest issue I had using those expensive creams they sell on the market. It took them forever to work, and once they did work, the creams didn’t stop them from spreading to a new location!
What oils can you use?
I used Young Living Essential oils. These oils are 100% pure. You must use Lemongrass, NOT plain Lemon! There is a difference and it’s huge so don’t make this mistake! I tried using a lemongrass cream and that wasn’t strong enough. You need the 100% lemongrass essential oil. You can find these here if you’re interested in using YLiving.
If you’re interested in other oils, here are a few others I recommend that you can buy on Amazon. However, I will say, do not go cheap! The oils you use need to be pure or they just won’t be strong enough and you’ll waste more money.
Trust me on this one, been there, done that!
This brand below is a decent brand of essential oils:
How to prevent molluscum contagiosum from spreading
This is difficult for parents, especially if you have more than one child. My biggest recommendation is if one child has this, be sure to use this treatment immediately, and DO NOT bathe your children together!!
Children sharing the same wet towels or bathtub can spread this lovely infection and that’s the last thing you want!
Have the child that has the virus take showers if they are old enough or bathe them alone. Once they are done in the tub, be sure to clean the tub thoroughly.
This skin infection is a major pain in the butt! It’s up there with head lice! However, I always tell myself things can always be worse and this is a minor skin infection that isn’t harmful and can be treated so I was thankful for that! 🙂
If you have any questions or comments, please do so below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can! Maybe some of you have tried this and it worked or have other recommendations.
I know many people mention using tea tree oil or apple cider vinegar. Don’t waste your time, I’ve tried both!
ACV took forever to use, burned my daughter’s skin, and made her cry. Tea tree oil was okay but not strong enough. This combination of lemongrass and oregano with the carrier oil does the trick! There’s no scarring on my daughter, in fact, you can’t even tell she had them for so long!
I hope this molluscum contagiosum remedy works as good for your family as it has for mine!
Related articles:
- Immune Boosting Detox Bath Recipes (to fight coughs and colds fast)
- Baby Medicine Cabinet Must-Haves
- Immune Boosting Vitamins for Kids!
- How to Kick The Stomach Flu Fast!
I am trying this as soon as I get the oils! My baby has had a spot on her stomach for 4 years- she now has on her elbow and arm pits 🙁 she is 10.
I will let you know how this works! Fingers crossed!!!!
Thank you for the post!
Hi Andrea,
Oh gosh, I heard it can last that long if you can’t get rid of it! I swear I tried it all and this was magic for my daughters! Remember, it will look worse before it gets better and fades away! Best of luck to you!! 🙂
Hi!!
Trying this with my 17 month old she’s covered in spots and they are spreading! Did you find coconut oil or canendula worked better?? Do I just dab the mixture on each spot as if I were applying lotion??
Thanks so much!!
Hi Caroline,
I’ve used both of the oils and they worked the same, they are just a carrier oil that is used for hot oils like oregano oil to protect the skin. Yes, just put it on the spots as if it were lotion! Best of luck to you! 🙂
I’m trying to find the owner of this recipe because I’m SO grateful!!!! I have looked all over for help online. Tried homeopathy without seeing improvement. and we are 8 days in and it is healing SO fast!! Like you said, first stage bumps quickly turning into white lesions, then bad ones scabbing time flatten and heal so quickly. We have only had them for 3 months but I just thought there had to be a cure. THANK YOU! I was so terrified it would spread from my 7 year olds neck to her face and we would have to stop doing her normal things for months. I feel like you saved us, thank you!! Natural medicine wins so big again!!!! Thank you a million times for sharing .
Awe, I’m so happy to hear this! It worked like magic for us too and the best part was no scarring after either! So happy I can help some other moms out with this because it’s terrible when you’ve tried everything and nothing works!
THIS WORKED AMAZINGLY! Thank you for this post!!! We have been at it for 6 months and tried everything, this is the only thing that worked. We are 8 days in using this mix and while she still has lesions, there are no new ones and the current ones are well on their way to being gone. Thank you again!
So great to hear!! 🙂
Hi,
My name is Kylie and one of my twins has had molloscum for nearly over a year.
We started your treatment tip this week, after trying mamy others. Luckily for us, they are all really tiny but just lots of them.
What is the first sign to look for that its working?
Hi Kylie,
So sorry I’m just seeing this now! I hope the oils helped! Remember, they will start to look worse before they go away! The first sign is that they will look more like a blister and pop and then eventually fade away. Keep adding the oils 1-2 times a day until it’s gone and it will also stop the spread of the molluscum! Hope this helps, you can email me as well if you have any more questions! Best of luck to you and your twins! 🙂
How long until you see a noticeable response? I am a YL subscriber so will get those oils asap….. I agree about creams. It seemed to work, but then it just spread to other areas! I’ve been using tea tree oil for almost two months and I don’t see a big change—and it’s still spreading.
Hi Monica,
I believe every child is different, but I will tell you that after about 2-3 days, you should notice the molluscum changing and either getting more red or begin to pop. Remember, it will look worse before it gets better. Keep applying the oil mixture at least once a day. If you can do it two times a day, then it will go away even faster! I was only able to apply it once every night before my daughter went to bed. In total, it probably took about 1-2 weeks. It might look like there will be a scar after but the scar won’t last and it will go away after about a month!
And yes- tea tree oil didn’t work for me either! I just had someone else ask me this! And I love YL but the tea tree oil just didn’t do the trick! Hope this helps and good luck to you! 🙂
Do you have to use a different q-tip for each spot?
Hi Sara,
Yes, I did use a different q-tip with each new spot! I will have to edit that so people know for sure. Thanks for pointing that out! Hope this works for you as good as it worked for us!
Ok, thank you! Each q-tip soaks up so much of the mixture and my son has like over 20 of them sooo it’s a lot! lol!
Also, I’ve heard that tea tree works well? Any benefit to mixing a few drops of that in with it? I have young living oils that I am using.
Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Sara,
Okay, so if he has a lot of small molluscum bumps and they are really close together then yes, go ahead and use the same q-tip. The ones that were more far apart from each other or different areas of the body, I used different q-tips for each of those. I hope that makes sense?! And I tried tea tree oil, it didn’t do anything. You can always try it, I’ve heard other people say it works but it didn’t work for us. There’s something about the lemongrass and oregano combo that not only heals it, but also makes it go away forever! Good luck!:)
Ok, great! Thank you so much, I really appreciate all your help!
My daughter has it on her nose. Do you think I can use it there? She is 6. I too thought it was going away but BAM it is now on the nose 🙁
Hi Heather,
Okay, so having it on the nose sucks! However, I would still try it on there! Only because nothing else has ever worked for me. My daughter had it on her forehead and I never used this treatment on it and there’s a scar there now so I wish I had! Just be sure to cover it with a bandaid because it will look worse before it looks better while you’re treating it! Good luck and always ask your doctor for advice it you’re unsure of anything!
Thank you so much for this! My daughter has had it for over 6 months, we’ve been using Mollenol (clove and coconut oil) but it’s still spreading. We will try this mixture, I have the Doterra oils. Oregano oil is amazing!
Hi Sarndra,
Yes, I don’t believe the clove oil is actually strong enough in my opinion. Doterra oils are great too, so give it a shot! The combo of the lemongrass and oregano really do the trick! Let me know if it works for you as well! It should, good luck! 🙂
My daughters had it for about 6+ weeks and her pediatrician was so casual about it I didn’t even realize it could spread to other kids. All last week she’s been bathing with me and my other daughter and now I’m paranoid! Been using zymaderm for about 3 days now with not much change but once my oregano comes in I’ll add this in too. If it’s covered w clothing it shouldn’t spread to anyone right, in your experience?
Yes, our doctor was very casual about it as well and said it will go away on its own which it didn’t! I don’t think it will spread as long as it’s covered and it hasn’t burst open, if that makes sense. It will eventually burst open before it completely goes away. Best of luck to you!
Hi there,
My question is has the virus returned since using your protocol?
Hi,
No, it has not returned at all. In fact, this happened over 3 years ago and my daughter doesn’t have any scarring and has never returned since!
I’m 20 y/o and I’ve had molluscum since November 2020. It’s March now. I’m at a loss. I’ve seen a dermatologist and am on 5% imiquimod cream, and tried so many “remedies”. I’m excited to see if this works bc I’m going crazy ever day longer I have it!
Hi Brooke,
I’m so sorry to hear this! I really hope this works for you! I know how hard this is to deal with! Let us know if you’ve had success! Good luck!
Hello my daughter has three spots i ordered the oregano oil and lemon grass and kids oil will that do ?
Can i cover it with bandage all the time ?
Once its read do i have to stop the treatment or proceed till its all gone.
Thank u soooo much this is the best article after reading 10 other or so and after crying 😅
Hi Reem,
So once it is red, I would continue to apply the oils every day until it is completely gone because when it is red, it is the most contagious so you’ll want to treat it even more then! And yes, you can keep it covered with a bandage but be sure to air it out every day. Hope this helps and best of luck to you!
Okay I’ve been using doterra Oregano for a few months now on my son who’s had these bumps for a little over a year in half. I’ve noticed some got red and went away, then I’ve tried putting just a tad bit of straight oregano on the bumps. Is this bad to do? How often can we use oregano oil on their skin. Thanks so much for sharing your idea I’m definitely ordering some lemongrass oil now too
Hi Kristi,
So, I’m not a doctor or an essential oil specialist, however, I will tell you that I don’t believe using oregano oil alone will do the trick. Something about the lemongrass combo with the oregano oil kicks it into overdrive somehow! LOL The oregano oil should be okay on their skin as long as you dilute it enough with coconut oil or a carrier oil since it’s a hot oil. If you can wait it out until you get the lemongrass, I would do that since oregano can be harsh on the skin if not diluted enough. Hope this helps! Let us know if it worked for you!
Thank you for your very informative posts. I’m buying the recommended products today. We’ve been struggling with this for 6 months.
Question, post putting on the treatment, do you need to cover it up with a bandaid or let it be exposed?
I let them be exposed unless they are out in the open and your child won’t stop touching them, then definitely cover them up with a bandaid if possible.
Just wanted to let you know that I’m beyond thankful for your article. My boyfriend and me got it and it was really painful and annoying . (I’ve already had it when I was 12 years and I remember it took me so long to get rid of it ) Using your lemongrass & oregano oil mixture helped me to get rid of them in a week and for my boyfriend it took about 2 weeks (we also started to add tea tree oil on him after some days as I feel like for him it helped to speed up the healing .
So yes definitely recommending this method to everyone and thank you again for sharing 🙂
Oh that’s great to hear! So happy to be able to help you!:)
Thank you for this! My daughter has had them for a few months. I couldn’t figure out what it was and even my pedi didn’t know. Just scheduled a derm appt and then realized this is what she has. She had it once as an 18 mo old (she’s 12 now) but it went away rather quickly. We just started the treatment today so I am hopeful this will work! Thanks again!
Good luck and let us know if it worked for you!
Could you put the mixture in a spray bottle?
Sure! I personally didn’t want it to go all over the place and sometimes a spray can do that but it’s totally your preference and how much area you need to cover.
So glad I found your article! My pediatrician recommended oregano oil but it was too hot for my 2 1/2 year old, I want to try it again and dilute it more. My toddler got it from diapers when she was 1. Wish I treated sooner, it spread in her private area from the diaper, do you think it’s safe to put in the private area since it’s spreading like crazy, feel helpless 😭😭
Yes, oregano oil alone is way too hot to use for anyone! I would absolutely dilute it more especially in the private area. You may want to double up on the lemongrass and go easy on the oregano oil then. I would go back and see what your doctor recommends for that sensitive area. This mixture works but it hasn’t been tested on sensitive areas like that so be sure to check with your doctor or dilute it as much as you can. Let us know if it worked for you!
Hi.
Took my 5 yr old to the derm & they applied “beetle juice” to his bumps. We have done this 2x & still seeing new bumps. I just purchased & applied the lemongrass & oregano oils (100% pure) wirh extra virgin coconut oil.
I heated up the coconut oil first to liquify, then mixed in the oils.
Did you liquify the coconut oil? Also, did you reuse the mixture? I have some left, but it solidifies quickly so not sure if I can reheat to liquefy & then re apply (it’s definitely not contaminated).
Any thoughts on this?
Extremely frustrated with this virus….on his abdomen, creases of arms, groin area, scrotum…..now new ones on his knee & abdomen…..and now on my neck….praying to God his sister, who is 3, does not get this as she would be a night mare trying to manage this.
Thank you in advance for your input!!
Hi Valerie,
Yes, this is an extremely frustrating virus, I couldn’t agree more! I did use the leftover mixture if I had any left but I usually had to make more every time I applied it. It is easier to apply the coconut oil if it is liquified but it works either way! I hope your daughter didn’t get it as well. Let me know if it worked for you! Best of luck!
We have been dealing with this with my oldest daughter since October, however, recently it’s started to spread more. I am hoping and praying that your remedy also works for us.
I just want to say……. I no longer feel “alone” reading all these comments knowing there are others dealing with this…. 🙁 my daughter had about 40 on her butt for over a year! Did better juice and imiquimod.. they went away!!! Thennnn 4 months later came back… she has about 10 on her butt again.. shes 3 now so she understands better not to touch them.. but I’m so sad to know we were on this path again.. they’re in her butt crack 🙁 well thank you for sharing this, I am hopeful and ready to try….
I tried this and it absolutely worked. Within a week they were very angry and red bit after day 10 almost gone. I can’t thank you enough for this recipe xx
Oh so great to hear! 🙂
How do I use the coconut oil you recommended? Do I heat it up to make it a fluid?
No need to heat it up, it should liquify once you put some on your fingers and rub it together.
Thank you –
The store by place had the NOW product line. I bought all three ingredients. I’m hoping I didn’t cheap out on them.
Question how do you stop the itching – will the products naturally reduce itching?.
Yes, it will help so much with the itching! Best of luck to you! 🙂
Hi I just want to say thank you for sharing this
My 18m old got it fm his siblings (they didn’t have it bad just 2 spots) and it spread like wildfire. I tried so many other remedies and found nothing helped till this! His lasted aprox 5 months till I came across your article. It kept spreading. What helped was keeping it covered w tegaderm that I bought on Amazon. I put it on twice a day and covered in between. It took about a month and 90% of the scarring is completely gone. Just a few spots left. Thank you again!
This was a total GAME CHANGERRRRR—all in the best way possible! Rarely do I even comment on blog posts anywhere lol but THIS has to be shared! So thankful for the wisdom & info shared here and for the help to get the virus gone!
Thanks, so happy to be able to help!
Your blog post is such a God send!! My 7 year old daughter has had molluscum bumps on her bottom for almost a year. The doctor has told us several times that they should eventually go away. They only have gotten worse and spread! We have been using the lemongrass/oregano mixture for a week and are already seeing a lot of the bumps scab up on their own. We will continue till they are gone! Thank you for your blog post, I am so grateful she is experiencing some relief!
I just wanted to say thanks so much for this post! Like other readers, I had two kids with molluscum, and the hyper vigilance I was exercising to prevent the spread was taking such a toll on my mental health. I tried a few other remedies, and I wish I tried this one first! It took about a month start to finish for us (we found some other small ones that we didn’t see at first during the initial treatment) but as far as we know, there was no spreading! Thank you so much for sharing what worked!