Dr Steve
09-19-2008, 05:16 AM
Dr Steve,
First and foremost, I'm a big fan of Weird Medicine. The reason I'm contacting you is about 3 months ago, I developed a few small bumps on my lower abdomen, about 4 inches below my navel. The largest of these lesions is about 4mm in diameter. They are red, slightly raised, and have somewhat dimpled appearances. They have not grown, have not spread, and are not painful. I would be willing to send you a photo of said lesions, though I know it is difficult to assess a skin condition without seeing it firsthand. The closest disease I have found to this on the internet is Molluscum contagiosum. Can you shed some light on this issue and recommend a treatment?
Wow, nice detective work, my friend. As soon as you said dimpled appearance I thought molluscum contagiosum as well.
Molluscum contagiosum is caused by a virus in the poxvirus family. It's a totally benign and self-limited condition, and looks like little fleshy domes, often with a dimpled center.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/molluscum/images/molluscum_sperling_thb.jpg
These are felt to be transmitted from the skin of one infected person to another. They will go away on their own, generally within 5 years, but a lot of derms will treat them because they CAN spread.
One interesting treatment you can do at home is to core one out with a toothpick...this seems to alert the immune system to the virus's presence...the body then goes in and wipes the rest of them out.
A derm would just freeze 'em and be done with it.
feel free to send me a picture!
your friend,
Steve[/QUOTE]
First and foremost, I'm a big fan of Weird Medicine. The reason I'm contacting you is about 3 months ago, I developed a few small bumps on my lower abdomen, about 4 inches below my navel. The largest of these lesions is about 4mm in diameter. They are red, slightly raised, and have somewhat dimpled appearances. They have not grown, have not spread, and are not painful. I would be willing to send you a photo of said lesions, though I know it is difficult to assess a skin condition without seeing it firsthand. The closest disease I have found to this on the internet is Molluscum contagiosum. Can you shed some light on this issue and recommend a treatment?
Wow, nice detective work, my friend. As soon as you said dimpled appearance I thought molluscum contagiosum as well.
Molluscum contagiosum is caused by a virus in the poxvirus family. It's a totally benign and self-limited condition, and looks like little fleshy domes, often with a dimpled center.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/molluscum/images/molluscum_sperling_thb.jpg
These are felt to be transmitted from the skin of one infected person to another. They will go away on their own, generally within 5 years, but a lot of derms will treat them because they CAN spread.
One interesting treatment you can do at home is to core one out with a toothpick...this seems to alert the immune system to the virus's presence...the body then goes in and wipes the rest of them out.
A derm would just freeze 'em and be done with it.
feel free to send me a picture!
your friend,
Steve[/QUOTE]