How it started for me
At first there were a few tiny red bumps. I didn’t attach much importance to them and hoped they would go away on their own.
At first I thought the bumps were pimples, and I also thought of ordinary warts. When they didn’t go away, I thought it was a fungal infection and even bought a cream for that. Only about four weeks later did I go to a dermatologist. There it all got a name: molluscum contagiosum.
Looking back, I can easily understand why such small bumps are overlooked at first or mistaken for something else. That is what this article is about: not how to recognise molluscum yourself with certainty, but what I read and why today I leave the judgement entirely to doctors.
How the sources describe molluscum
The American Academy of Dermatology, the large professional body of dermatologists in the US, describes molluscum as small, firm bumps. From what I read there, they can appear almost anywhere on the skin, but only rarely on the palms and soles.
On the Mayo Clinic website I read that the bumps are raised, round and skin-coloured, usually smaller than about six millimetres, and often have a small dimple or dot in the centre. They can also turn pink or itch.
I found it interesting that the Mayo Clinic distinguishes between children and adults. In children, the bumps there usually appear on the face, trunk, arms or legs. In adults who caught it through sex, they tend to appear in the genital area, on the lower abdomen or on the inner thighs. The AAD also writes that molluscum can form on the moist tissue inside the eyelids.
The small dimple in the centre is where the German name comes from: “Dellwarzen” roughly means “dimple warts”.
According to DermNet, doctors usually recognise molluscum just by how it looks, sometimes with the help of a dermatoscope. That is a kind of illuminated magnifier used to look at the skin more closely.
Not ordinary warts
That molluscum is not an ordinary wart is something I only learned while reading. A medical review says that molluscum is caused by a virus from the poxvirus family. Ordinary warts on the hands or feet, as I read, are caused by papillomaviruses instead.
The German name, with the word “warts” in it, easily puts you on the wrong track. For me, knowing this was important for making sense of information online. Not everything you read about warts applies to molluscum.
What molluscum can be mistaken for
In a medical review I read that molluscum can resemble other skin conditions, which can make the diagnosis harder.
That surprised me. To a layperson like me, a small bump quickly looks like a pimple. And anyone who notices something in the genital area might first think of herpes or another infection. That is exactly why I think it matters not to rely on your own eyes.
On top of that, many pictures online show very clear-cut cases. Your own skin often looks different, especially at the beginning, when there are only one or two small spots.
Of course I also searched for pictures myself back then and tried to compare my skin with them.
I have deliberately not written a list of distinguishing features here. I am not a doctor. A list like that could give the impression that you can judge it yourself with certainty. From everything I have read, only a doctor can do that.
When spots change
I also read that molluscum can change over time. Some spots turn red, swell or become inflamed. A case report from 2025 describes this kind of redness as a possible reaction of the immune system before healing. But inflammation can also have other causes. There is more about this in the article Itchy, red or inflamed molluscum.
For me, it is one more reason to have changes looked at by a doctor rather than guessing.
Why a doctor’s diagnosis matters to me
In a British sexual health guideline I read that molluscum can be more pronounced in people with a severely weakened immune system. With an unusually large number of spots, or unusually large ones, further medical investigation is described there.
From everything I have read, skin changes belong in a doctor’s hands in situations such as these:
- when it isn’t clear whether it is molluscum at all,
- when spots appear on or near the eye,
- when spots become inflamed, very red or painful.
This is not a complete list and does not replace a conversation with a doctor. Which other situations the sources mention I have collected in the article Seeing a doctor about molluscum. The NHS and gesund.bund.de (in German) give an overview.
What I take away from it
For me, it was only the visit to the dermatologist that gave it all a name. From then on I could read up in a targeted way and compare sources. Before that, I just had an uneasy feeling and a lot of open questions.
If you are looking at small bumps right now and don’t know what they are: you are not alone with this. A doctor’s diagnosis can bring clarity.
After two years it was over for me. Was it coincidence? I don’t know. How it came about, I tell in my story.