Asyraf and his Skin

i noticed a couple of white spots on asyraf a few months back. one was quite big, like a pimple, one was smallish, almost non-existent. i left it at that, didnt think much of it. he's almost seven so i dont check his body as often as i did when they were younger - had to check quite often to make sure there's no eczema, rashes, bumps, bite marks etc.

one fine day, i looked and woah...the spots multiplied. there's even some on his side and back. he said he didn't feel comfortable, he wanted to scratch but i wouldnt let him, afraid they would scar. i decided to bring him to a dermatologist since ariff too had some rashes under his arms, and while we're at it, i've got some itchiness on my fingers - ever since the housework been piling up, right?

took them to dr mardziah, whose clinic is next to dr azizi's. she's a paedriatic dermatologist as i wanted a skin specialist for this. dr mardziah's queue is a blessing compared to our other doctors at dsh - dr maziah, dr azizi, dr azmi, dr awal, dr rozman (oh yes...we have loads of doctors that we visit at dsh, hence my no. 3 on the expenditure list ehem!). ahead of us, there was only a family who was already inside and the doctor's assistant got a quick reading of the boys' height & weight. asyraf's 113cm at 17kg while ariff's 112cm at 19kg. yeah...my twins.

we got in to see dr mardziah after about 10minutes (or even less) wait. showed her asyraf's chest, she asked him to lie down for her to see. quick look from her and she said 'its viral...its called molluscum contagiousum'. well...that was quick. she said treatment is to put dried ice on each spot so that its not active. thought i was supposed to get the dried ice, i was a bit blur then. but she pointed to her table and said, there's ice there, depends on us when we wanted the treatment to be. oh ok, again...that's quick. asyraf wanted to do it then, so she called her assistant, put on her gloves and got to work. she warned asyraf that its cold and may sting but asyraf, the drama king, had no expression what-so-ever. she applied the ice using cotton buds on the spots.

once she was done, asyraf started fidgeting. he was grumbling that it stings and hurts, and the spots quickly redden. the doctor was surprised, saying his skin must be sensitive to change colour so fast. oh well...that's asyraf, mr sensitivity! we'll be back in a couple of weeks time to see if all the spots have been taken care of. hopefully they have because i dont want more $$$ going out!

note - molluscum contagiosum as explained by mr. wikipedia.

molluscum  contagiosum (mc) is a viral infection of the skin or occasionally of the mucous membranes, sometimes called water warts. it is caused by a DNA poxvirus called the molluscum contagiosum virus (mcv). mcv has no nonhuman-animal reservoir (infecting only humans). this common viral disease has a higher incidence in children, sexually active adults, and those who are immunodeficient, and the infection is most common in children aged one to ten years old. mc can affect any area of the skin but is most common on the trunk of the body, arms, and legs.

surgical treatments include cryosurgery, in which liquid nitrogen is used to freeze and destroy lesions, as well as scraping them off with a curette. application of liquid nitrogen may cause burning or stinging at the treated site, which may persist for a few minutes after the treatment.

oh...we saw this at the clinic...