Can somebody help me with this skin problem in my pubic region? It's been over a year :(

Posted , 2 users are following.

Hi all,

I really hope somebody can advise me! Sorry if this is long.

I've decided to finally post online and ask about this problem because I am getting nowhere with it with the GPs or the hospital (more on those later)

So anyway, in August 2021, I noticed a red raised bump, looked similar to a spot, a few inches above my penis in the pubic hair region. At first I thought it was a spot, but it was there for ages so I saw a GP about it. He said keep an eye on it and it should go. Come October 2021, it was still there - I visited another GP at the practice who had a look, and he said there was more than one of these - he counted upto 6. He didn't know what they were. He also made a referral for me to dermatology at the hospital. Bear in mind this was almost a year ago. In December 2021, I also took myself to the GUM sexual health clinic - the guy there also didn't know what they were. He said usually he'd freeze them off if he knew, but told me I'd best wait for the referral.

At that stage, I didn't think it'd get so much worse. Over the subsequent months since then, I have had many more of these growths/warts/bumps/whatever they are. Earlier this year, one or two of them got larger and burst I believe. I've had more visits to the GP, and have been given various creams to try - Aciclovir 5% cream, Timodine cream and Hydrocortisone acetate - none of these have worked.

(note: the GP did give me the tiniest tube of Aciclovir, which barely lasted a few days - when I went back to tell him it didn't last long enough for the 1 week I was told to use it, instead of giving me more, he just switched to something else (timodine) entirely!)

To make it worse, the doctors have now sent THREE expedite letters to the hospital over the last 6 months to try and get my referral sped up - the last one complete with photos of the problem - and each time I have been told I am on the "appropriate list" and that I am expected to be seen mid-2023! By that point it will be 2 years! My main worry is that it could be contagious, be that to other people, or other parts of my body, but all they could say in response to the last expedite letter is that it "probably isn't contagious but we can't be sure"

The reason I am posting in here is because one GP did mention the word molluscum and so I was hoping someone could help identify what these are and what to do next?

It is causing me great anxiety - like I said I am worried about is spreading to other parts of my body (I already have contamination OCD) and also, I have been unable to date during this time because of the worry it being contagious, so it's making me miserable and anxious.

If anyone could offer some help or advice, or what road to go down, it'd be much appreciated! The images are below.

image

image

image

Thanks

0 likes, 1 reply

1 Reply

  • Edited

    Hi, im a 20 years old boy, and i have the same condition as you its called Molluscum contagiosum. i caught it last year about the same time as you. My first doctor appointment was in September 2021.

    Well at the start i stressed like a crazy and had so much anxiety about it and i thought my life was destroyed, and it kept going like that until march 2022. Basically i felt exactly like you do now, and it was a nightmare.

    But i will tell you this, there are really no need for all this stress. First of all you, if you have a normal immune system, the virus will eventually clear from 1-3 years, Its not something you will have forever.

    But of course that is not something you can wait for.

    In my case i kept shaving the pupic area (i thought it was pimples at the start). The result was a situation with bumps all over the pupic area and they spread to the penis, inner thighs, and everywhere. my situation was 10 x worse than the pictures you have attached.

    I have tried different treatment options.

    I started with some acid i could put on them, some of them went away with it, but not many especially not the small ones.

    I went to two dermatologist, the first one took a needle kind of tool and popped them. and a lot of them actually went away, but i was not satisfied. But the second dermatologist i went to, used a tool where she just scraped them away. In like 5 minutes she removed over 20 of them. She said i could come back for a follow up. But i never returned.

    After that i never stressed again, its not worth the stress when you see how easy treatable they are.

    Today i still got some molluscums, they are the ones that i didn't wanted to remove back in march and they have spread a little bit, but its just small ones and the bumps really dont scare me anymore. I stressed a lot about not touching them and spread onto my body, but now i live like i dont have them and as i said, they dont spread much if you have a healthy immune system.

    The reason i found your post was because, i found an easy way to remove them at home 3 days ago. I tried like my first dermatologist to buy a needle and pop them. It is working!! 3 of the bigger bumps i have had for 4 months+ is on their way to disappear.

    I will make you a little to do list.

    • Stop shaving, waxing... Spreading like crazy.

      And i mean your whole body except for your face.

    • Instead buy shaving machine with 0,4mm head. You can still trim your hair, especially those hairs on your pictures are easy trimable. You might even trim without the 0,4 mm head, just make sure you dont touch the skin with the razor. It will create tiny scars in the skin which makes the virus spread. You will need to do this until virus is out of your body and not just when the bums are gone from treatment.

    • Buy acid at your pharmacy, they have different names in countries. So just ask for Molluscoum contagiousm treatment.

    • Now to the wonder treatment haha.

      Buy a needle, burn it with a lighter to disinfect it. Then pop in the middle of each bump, and keep going until you see a little red blood drop coming out. It is actually the virus mixed up with blood so have disinfectant lotion ready, 70-85% alcohol should do it. Then just dip the bumps with the alcohol and let them dry before putting on your clothes. After 1-3 days you will see them getting, Red, raising, getting bigger, and they might be sore and hurt. That is a good sign, it means they are about to go away. They will always have this reaction when they go away despite treatment.

    I hope this helped, you are welcome to ask questions. I am sure the needle method will help. My first dermatologist used it as well:)

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.