Molluscum contagiosum is a common skin disease caused by a virus that typically presents as a flesh colored bump with a central indentation or dell. This skin disease is most often seen in children and patients who have eczema. Touching something infected with the virus or having direct skin-to-skin contact transmits the virus. Children are more susceptible to molluscum because they often have direct skin-to-skin contact with each other. People who participate in contact sports such as wrestling may also get molluscum from the direct skin-to-skin contact. Teens and adults are exposed to the virus through sexual contact.
Once infected with the virus, a person can spread the virus to other parts the body. Scratching or picking at bumps on the skin and then touching unaffected skin can spread the virus and cause new bumps. The lesions are typically treated with cryosurgery (freezing), curettage (scraping), laser surgery, topical skin therapy, immunomodulators, or retinoids.