It is not a good idea to try to remove the molluscum growths or to get rid of the fluid inside them yourself.

• The treatment may be painful.
• You might spread the bumps to another part of your body or to another person.
• By scratching and scraping the skin you might cause a more serious bacterial infection. If you want to have the growths removed or treated, talk to a health care provider.

People with this skin disease can cause the bumps to spread to different parts of their body. This is called autoinoculation. Such spread can occur by touching or scratching a bump and then touching another part of the body.

The virus can also be spread from person to person. This can happen if the growths on one person are touched by another person. It can also happen if the virus gets on an object that is touched by other people. Examples of such objects are towels, clothing, and toys. Molluscum can also be spread from one person to another by sexual contact. Anyone who develops bumps in the genital area (on or near the penis, vulva, vagina, or anus) should see a health care provider. Bumps in these areas sometimes mean that molluscum or some other disease was spread through sexual contact.

Dr Arani strongly warns against self treatment with non-FDA approved treatment (cream, remedies, oil, home made med, etc.) that may be availble for Molloscum no matter what any websites may claim. "FDA compliant," "FDA registered manufacture" and so on does not mean the product is "FDA approved specifically for molluscum." We have seen numerous cases of patients who were victims of these marketing remedies for molluscum. We strongly advise against these applications. They may encourage viral transmission by stimulation and viral shading.

There is no immunity once you are infected and treated for molluscum, you may still be re-infected again by an untreated partner or others.