Kids and Molluscum Contagiosum (MC)

Kids and Molluscum Contagiousum (MC)

Hello and thanks for your help! This quick, 10-question survey should take about 3 minutes to complete.

It's designed to help us understand how you worked through treating MC, a very common and harmless viral infection that spreads easily from kid to kid. Your help is much appreciated!

Question Title

* 1. Had you ever heard of molluscum contagiosum (“MC”) before your child was infected?

Yes, I had heard of MC before my child got it

No, I had not heard of MC before my child got it

I’m not sure / don’t recall

Question Title

* 2. MC is highly contagious and can take several weeks to appear after exposure. How did you feel when you first saw the bumps on your child’s skin? (Select as many as apply)

Confused about what it was / if it was serious

Concerned that the infection would spread to siblings / others in the family

Ashamed that my child had become infected

Worried that I’d have to pull my child out of school

A little disgusted, to be honest

No big deal, yet another thing my kid has caught

Surprised and curious where this infection may have come from

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. Did you call your doctor soon after you saw the bumps?

Yes, we saw our PEDIATRICIAN

Yes, we saw our PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN

Yes, we saw a DERMATOLOGIST

Yes, we went to URGENT CARE

No, I knew what it was and didn’t seek treatment

Question Title

* 4. How did you ultimately treat your child’s MC? (Select as many as apply)

Topical medications / salicylic acid

Scraping away (by a doctor, also called “curettage”)

Freezing (by a doctor, also called “cryotherapy”)

Laser treatment

Duct tape over the lesions

Tea tree oil

Oral medicines like Tagamet (Cimetidine)

None of the above – we let them go away on their own

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. Knowing what you know now, if there was an FDA-approved topical medicine that could effectively clear half of the MC bumps or lesions on your child’s skin between 3-12 weeks, would you consider using it?

Yes

Maybe

Why or why not?

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* 6. How would you feel about having to get a topical medicine administered in a doctor’s office every 3 weeks vs every day at home?

I’d rather administer daily at home

Every 3 weeks is no problem, we go to the doctor routinely anyway

Not sure

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* 7. Did YOU ever feel shame or guilt about your child becoming infected with MC? Why or why not?

Yes

Don’t know

Why or why not?

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* 8. How did your CHILD feel about the bumps?

They were upset / bothered / embarrassed

They didn’t really care too much

Other

What other feelings did they feel?

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* 9. Did how your child feel about MC (uncomfortable, itchy, embarrassed, etc.) make a difference in how you decided to treat their MC?

No, not at all

Yes, a little

Yes, a lot

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* 10. What was the biggest challenge you faced in while treating your child’s MC?

Doctor dismissed it / wanted us to wait and see

Infection spreading to siblings or others in the house

Trial and error of different treatments that didn’t work

The cost and scheduling challenge of getting to a dermatologist

Other (please specify)