What you read everywhere
Public health sources say that molluscum often clears up on its own, frequently within months. For some people, though, it takes considerably longer, sometimes several years. At first I skimmed past that second part.
“It will go away on its own” is a reassuring sentence. But it becomes hard to bear when new spots appear month after month.
What research says about how long it lasts
The most precise figures I found come from a British study published in 2015 in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The researchers followed more than 300 children with molluscum month by month. On average it took a little over 13 months until no spots were visible anymore.
What stayed with me more was the rest: in about 30 per cent, the molluscum was still there after a year and a half, and in 13 per cent even after two years. The study is about children. But it shows that a long course is not unusual.
The beginning
A few tiny red bumps. At first I took them for pimples, then for a fungal infection. Only about four weeks later did I see a dermatologist, and it all got a name: molluscum contagiosum. My dermatologist said that six to eighteen months or longer was not unusual.
The first year
I applied creams and liquids, disinfected and kept my towels separate. Individual spots got better, and I hoped that was the end of it. But new ones kept appearing. For me, this up and down was almost worse than the spots themselves.
At some point I started buying loads of new underwear and clothes so that I could wear something new every day. I wanted to rule out the molluscum coming back through old laundry, even though I had washed everything. I spent several hundred euros on this.
Why new spots can still appear
For a long time I didn’t understand why new bumps kept appearing even though I was doing something about them. While reading, I came across two explanations.
First, the incubation period: according to DermNet, there are often about two weeks between infection and a visible bump, but it can be up to six months. So new spots can go back to an infection that happened quite a while ago.
Second, so-called self-infection: scratching or rubbing can carry the virus to other areas of skin on your own body. What I read about this is in the article Why does molluscum spread on your own body?
Both helped me understand why it can feel as if you are fighting something that is always one step ahead.
What I read about treatments
Doctors know various ways of removing molluscum, for example freezing, removing the spots with a sharp spoon (curette), or liquids that are applied to the skin. Which of these comes into question is a medical decision. gesund.bund.de gives an overview (in German).
What surprised me was a review by the Cochrane Collaboration from 2017. It analysed 22 studies and concluded that none of the treatments examined was convincingly effective. One active ingredient applied to the skin, which has often been studied, worked no better than a preparation without an active ingredient, but caused more skin irritation.
That helped me understand why so many attempts can come to nothing. According to current knowledge, the one remedy that helps everyone doesn’t seem to exist.
When the sources say waiting is not a good idea
Waiting is not the right choice in every situation. In the British guideline and in other sources I read that medical care is particularly important for people with a severely weakened immune system, with very many or very large spots, and with spots near the eyes. If the burden in everyday life becomes very great, that too is a reason to talk to a doctor about the options.
The second year
More doctor visits, more attempts. I read a great deal in forums and spent more time on my skin than on anything else. At some point, above all, I was tired: of checking, of hoping, of being disappointed.
In the end I got to the point of doing immune-support courses, in the hope that my body would fight the virus better. What I later read about this is in the article Molluscum and the immune system.
The turning point
After two years, I stopped looking for the one remedy. I questioned everything I had done until then and made myself a fixed plan for 30 days. I left out some of what I had been doing for a long time. It came down to just three to four applications a day.
After about seven days, I noticed that the affected areas of skin were drying out. Around 30 days later, nothing was visible on me anymore. Was it coincidence? I don’t know.
What I later read about healing
Only later did I come across the so-called BOTE sign in medical articles. The abbreviation stands for “beginning of the end”. It means that molluscum spots often become inflamed, red or swollen shortly before they clear up. A case report from 2025 describes this as a reaction of the immune system that often comes before healing.
I find this interesting because it shows how differently a course can look. Whether something like this played a part for me, I can’t judge. Inflammation can also have other causes. If spots become inflamed, very red or painful, they should be checked by a doctor.
What I take away from those two years
The course can vary a lot. For some people, “just wait” is over after a few weeks, and for others it simply isn’t. If you are in the middle of it right now: you are not alone with this feeling.
From everything I have read, skin changes should be checked by a doctor, especially if they become inflamed, appear near the eyes or it is unclear what they are.