Why Your Kid's Molluscum Bumps Aren't Going Away

The molluscum cream your dermatologist prescribed actually.…doesn't beat doing nothing. A 2017 Cochrane review of 22 trials says so. Dr. Chris Motley breaks down why watchful waiting is actually the evidence-backed call, what the new FDA-approved gel really does (and doesn't) fix, and why some kids' bumps won't quit for years while others clear in months.

[00:00:00] - The pediatrician who said "just wait it out" 

[00:00:48] - Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast

[00:01:01]- Six million cases a year, and why some kids are more exposed than others [00:02:36] - The jolt: a systematic review of 22 trials says the standard cream doesn't beat nothing 

[00:03:39] - A frustrated mother's story: two bumps become ten, then spread to both siblings 

[00:08:05] - This isn't about which cream to buy, it's about how the virus hides 

[00:08:42] Meet the pox family and the cells the virus sets up shop in 

[00:09:28] - The virus's cloaking device: blocking your own inflammation signal 

[00:10:44] - Imiquimod was never actually FDA-approved for this 

[00:11:58] Why "watch and wait" is the most evidence-backed thing a dermatologist can tell you 

[00:12:16] - What changed in January 2024: the first FDA-approved molluscum treatment ever 

[00:14:11] - The real question: why some kids clear this in months and others fight it for years