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Papules of molluscum contagiosum go away without treatment, but very slowly. Which of the available treatments works best? Investigators treated molluscum in 124 children by a variety of methods to determine whether medical treatments work as well as the usually painful curettage.
The children (age range, 1–18 years) were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups:
curettage following topical anesthesia
cantharidin 0.7% in a flexible collodion vehicle, applied once, by a physician, without occlusion, and removed by washing after 2 to 4 hours
a “tiny amount” of a mixture of keratolytic salicylic acid 16.7% and lactic acid 16.7%, applied by parents at home three times per week and washed off in the morning
imiquimod 5% cream, applied by par…