Does molluscum contagiosum itch?

When molluscum contagiosum occurs, patients will feel itching on their bodies. This symptom is very painful and will make many patients unable to sleep peacefully at night, which will affect their sleep quality. They can only find ways to treat it based on their specific symptoms. Generally speaking, they still need to find ways to take medication measures to improve the condition.

①Childhood type: Infection is caused by direct skin contact or transmissible infectious agents. Molluscum warts are seen on the face, trunk and limbs.

② Adult type: It can be sexually transmitted. Molluscum warts are more common on the external genitalia, buttocks, lower abdomen, pubic area and inner thigh area, and occur in the anus during anal sex. Lynch reported 55 such cases, who were soldiers returning to the United States from Vietnam and North Korea who had a history of prostitution in their countries.

Skin lesions can occur on any contact site except the palms and soles, and may also appear on the lips, tongue, buccal mucosa, conjunctiva, etc. Conjunctival lesions may be accompanied by reactive conjunctivitis or keratitis. A few lesions are abnormally large and are called giant molluscum. Some may keratinize and resemble small skin horns, which are called keratotic molluscum. Generally no symptoms.

In cases of HIV infection, the incidence of molluscum contagiosum increases, and the molluscum contagiosum spreads widely and causes large lesions. There are reports of AIDS patients having huge molluscum contagiosum on their faces, which can be easily confused with basal cell epithelioma. In addition, two cases of extensive, acute onset of hundreds of molluscum warts have been reported in patients receiving immunosuppressants. The patient had a history of treatment with prednisolone and methotrexate, and the onset was believed to be related to his immunosuppression.

The disease is self-limited and generally lasts for months to years.

The clinical and histological features of this disease are very special and generally the diagnosis is not difficult.

Pathogenesis in TCM: Commonly known as water warts, "rat milk" in TCM is similar to this disease. The "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases" states that "rat milk is when flesh suddenly grows on the body, shaped like rat milk, which is called rat milk." TCM believes that this is caused by disharmony of Qi and blood, loose pores, and invasion of external evil, which condenses on the skin.

Differential Diagnosis

According to the clinical manifestations of this disease, there are round or hemispherical papules with a waxy luster and a central umbilicus. Cheese-like substances can be squeezed out and have characteristic histopathological features, which are easy to diagnose. Young people with sexually active genital lesions should be checked for sexually transmitted diseases. Larger skin lesions should be differentiated from basal cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma.

1. Syringoma: It often occurs around the eyelids of women. It is a small nodule ranging in size from a needle tip to a grain of rice. It is densely packed, normal skin color or light brown, hard in texture, without molluscum bodies in the center, and is not contagious.

2. Papular urticaria: A common allergic skin disease in children. It initially presents as spindle-shaped edematous red maculopapules, which gradually develop into hard blisters with protruding tops, no depressions, no small bodies discharged, and severe itching.