Condition

Molluscum Contagiosum

Molluscum contagiosum is a common viral skin infection that causes small, firm, dome-shaped bumps with a dimple in the middle. It is harmless, it spreads easily among children, and it clears on its own - though that can take a year or more.
Dr. Schwarz, MD · Board-certified dermatologistLast reviewed September 8, 2026
16:9 hero for Molluscum Contagiosum. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.

Start here

Molluscum is a harmless viral infection that clears on its own and leaves nothing behind unless something is done to it. The hard part is the timeline — most children have it for six months to a year and a half, with new bumps appearing while old ones settle, which is long enough to conclude that everything you are doing is failing. It is not failing; that is the natural course. There are good reasons to treat, such as bumps in an awkward spot, a child scratched raw, eczema flaring, or a family at the end of its patience, but I want the choice made knowing that doing nothing is also a real option and, for a lot of children, the kindest one.

— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist

Key Facts

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How commonVery common in young children, and a routine reason for pediatric and dermatology visits
Who gets itMostly children aged about one to ten. Also common in people with eczema, in contact-sport athletes, and in adults where it can spread through sexual contact
Curable or managedIt clears on its own. Most cases resolve within six to eighteen months, occasionally longer
Prescription neededOften no treatment is needed at all. Prescription and in-clinic options exist when treatment is wanted
Time to improveIndividual bumps last weeks to a few months. The whole episode usually runs six to eighteen months

What It Is

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Molluscum contagiosum is a skin infection caused by a poxvirus. It is not related to the wart virus, though the two get confused, and it behaves differently.

The bumps are small, usually two to five millimeters across, firm, dome-shaped, and skin-colored, pink or pearly. What identifies them is a small dip in the center, called central umbilication, with a white waxy core of virus inside. There are usually between a handful and thirty, though children with eczema or a suppressed immune system can have many more.

They cluster, and often line up, because scratching drags the virus along the skin. In children the usual sites are the trunk, armpits, backs of the knees, inner arms, neck and face. In adults, bumps on the lower abdomen, groin, inner thighs and genitals usually mean the virus was passed through sexual contact.

Two things confuse people. Molluscum dermatitis is a dry, itchy eczema-like patch around the bumps, in about a third of children. The other is the ending — as the immune system finally recognizes the infection, a bump turns red, swollen and tender and looks infected. That is the beginning-of-the-end sign, and it means the bump is about to clear.

Molluscum is harmless. It does not affect health, does not spread internally, and does not scar unless the bumps are scratched deeply, picked or treated aggressively.

Symptoms

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Shiny domes with a dimple

Classic Bumps

Firm, pearly, dome-shaped bumps two to five millimetres across, each with a small dip in the center. They are painless and spread by skin contact and shared towels. Most clear on their own over months to a couple of years.
Red and sore bumps

Inflamed

Bumps that turn red, swollen and tender, sometimes with pus, which often looks like an infection. This is usually the body starting to clear them rather than a complication. It often comes shortly before they disappear.
An itchy rash around them

With Surrounding Eczema

A dry, itchy rash around the bumps, most common in children who already have eczema. Scratching spreads the bumps in lines across the skin. Settling the eczema reduces the spread.

How It Looks by Skin Tone

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A cluster of firm, dome-shaped pink and pearly white bumps on the side of a child's trunk on light skin, each two to five millimetres across with a small dip in the center.A cluster of firm, dome-shaped pale pink to skin-colored bumps on the side of a child's trunk on medium olive-toned skin, one of them redder and swollen.A cluster of firm, dome-shaped bumps on the side of a child's trunk on brown skin. The bumps are skin-colored to slightly gray rather than pink, each with a small dip in the center.A cluster of firm, dome-shaped skin-colored to gray bumps on the side of a child's trunk on deep brown skin, with two flat darker marks nearby where earlier bumps have healed.
LightMediumBrownDeep

On deeper skin tones the bumps often look skin-colored or slightly gray rather than pink or pearly, and the pearly shine textbooks describe is much less obvious. The central dip and the firm dome shape are more reliable, and running a finger over the area often finds them faster than looking.

The redness that signals clearing also looks different — brown, violet or simply darker than the surrounding skin — so the beginning-of-the-end flare is easy to miss or mistake for infection. What matters more is what molluscum leaves behind. Bumps that have been scratched, picked or treated with methods that blister the skin heal into flat dark marks, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and on deeper skin tones those marks routinely take six to twelve months to fade - far longer than the bump lasted. Pale spots can also remain, and they show more here too. That shifts the balance. Since molluscum resolves on its own and treatment marks can outlast the infection, watchful waiting and the gentler treatments are often the better trade. When treatment is used, treat a few bumps first to see how the skin responds, and use daily sunscreen on any treated area that gets sun.

Where It Shows Up

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Front view of a whole body with red marks in both armpits, on the neck and face, across the chest and abdomen and on the inner surfaces of both arms.
Children: trunk, armpits, neck and face
In children the usual places are the trunk, the armpits, the inner arms, the neck and the face — skin that is warm, folded and rubbing. Wherever they are, they cluster in creases and run in lines where a child has scratched and carried the virus along.
Front view of a whole body with red marks across the lower abdomen and waist, the groin and both inner thighs. The rest of the body is clear.
Adults: lower abdomen, groin and inner thighs
In adults, bumps on the lower abdomen, the groin, the inner thighs and the genitals usually mean the virus was passed on through sexual contact, and testing for other infections is normally offered at the same time.

What Happens in the Skin

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This is what is going wrong under the skin, in the order it happens. Click a step to see it.

How Molluscum Contagiosum happens
Skin basics
BARRIEREPIDERMISDERMIS0NORMAL SKIN1THE VIRUS ARRIVES2INFECTED CELLS BUILD THE BUMPS3SCRATCHING SPREADS IT4THE IMMUNE SYSTEM CATCHES UP

The barrier is intact and nothing is getting through it.

A poxvirus, spread by skin-to-skin contact and by shared towels, mats and baths. Damp or eczema-prone skin lets it in more easily.

The virus makes skin cells multiply into small firm domes with a dimple in the middle, each one full of virus.

Scratching or shaving over a bump carries the virus along the line of the scratch, which is why new ones appear in rows.

Eventually it recognizes the infection and clears it, often with a red, sore-looking flare first. That flare is the sign it is ending, not worsening.

The outer film of dead cells and oil. It holds water in and keeps irritants out, and it is thinner than a sheet of paper. Almost every dry, itchy, stinging skin problem starts here.

The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.

The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.

Molluscum is caused by a poxvirus and spreads in four steps. First, the skin meets the virus, through skin-to-skin contact — which is why it moves between children who play, wrestle and share beds — and through objects that touched infected skin: towels, flannels, sponges, clothing, gym mats and kickboards. Second, it enters the outer layer of skin; intact dry skin is a reasonable barrier, so it gets in most easily through scratched, broken, wet or eczema-affected skin. Third, it infects cells there and drives them to multiply, producing the firm dome-shaped bump with its waxy core. Fourth, the immune system takes a long time to recognize it, because the virus stays in the outer layer and makes proteins that dampen the local immune response.

After that, most spread is self-spread. Scratching a bump breaks it open, carries virus on the fingernails and deposits it wherever the child scratches next, which is why bumps appear in lines or in creases where skin rubs. In adults, shaving does the same.

The gap between catching the virus and the first bump is two to seven weeks or longer, so the source is almost never identifiable.

It ends when step four happens — the immune system recognizes the virus, the bumps go red and inflamed, and clear.

Risk Factors

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Molluscum is not a sign of poor hygiene or a weak immune system. It comes down to age, close contact and the skin barrier.

Age
Age
Children between about one and ten account for most cases — constant close contact, no prior exposure.
Other health conditions
Eczema
The strongest risk factor after age. Broken, itchy skin lets the virus in and scratching spreads it.
Other health conditions
A suppressed immune system
In advanced HIV, on transplant medicines or chemotherapy it can be extensive, with hundreds of bumps, and needs specialist care.
Close contact
Close contact with someone who has it
Siblings, classmates and playmates. Sharing a bath or a bed makes it more likely.
Close contact
Contact sports
Wrestling, judo, rugby and gymnastics, through skin contact and shared mats.
Close contact
Sexual contact
In adults, molluscum on the lower abdomen, groin, genitals and inner thighs is usually passed this way.
Environment & work
Shared items
Towels, flannels, sponges, clothing, gym mats, kickboards and floats.
Environment & work
Swimming pools
The link is real, but it is shared towels, kickboards and wet skin contact rather than the water.
Environment & work
Warm climates and crowding
Warm humid climates and crowding both raise the rate.

Course

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Molluscum is self-limiting and usually clears within six to eighteen months, occasionally two years or more in children with eczema. The shape of the course catches people out, because the bumps do not all appear at the start and fade together.

Early weeksThe first bumps
It starts small

Individual bumps last a few weeks to a few months. Only a few are there at the start, so the size of the problem now says little about where it goes.

The middle monthsNumbers rising
It feels like it is getting worse

New bumps keep arriving while older ones resolve, so the total rises for months before it falls, often peaking around the middle.

Along the wayAny point in the episode
Molluscum dermatitis

Roughly a third of children develop a dry, itchy eczema-like patch around the bumps. It is a reaction to the virus, not a new problem, and it settles as the bumps do. Treat it anyway, because the itching drives scratching and scratching spreads the infection.

Skin around the bumps
The endOver a month or two
The beginning-of-the-end sign

As the immune system recognizes the virus, a bump becomes red, swollen, tender, sometimes crusted. This gets mistaken for bacterial infection and treated with antibiotics that were not needed. When one bump does it, others follow within weeks and the crop can clear.

After clearingThe months that follow
Repeat episodes are uncommon

Immunity is usually good afterwards. Flat dark or pale marks can remain and fade over months. True scars come from picking, deep scratching or aggressive treatment, not the infection.

What Makes It Better & Worse

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Molluscum is four problems — contact with the virus, entry through broken or wet skin, infected cells multiplying into bumps, and an immune system that has not yet recognized the infection. Most spread is self-spread, moved on fingers, razors and towels.

What is driving yours?

FATBARRIEREPIDERMISDERMIS

A poxvirus, spread by skin-to-skin contact and by shared towels, mats and baths. Damp or eczema-prone skin lets it in more easily.

The virus makes skin cells multiply into small firm domes with a dimple in the middle, each one full of virus.

Scratching or shaving over a bump carries the virus along the line of the scratch, which is why new ones appear in rows.

Eventually it recognizes the infection and clears it, often with a red, sore-looking flare first. That flare is the sign it is ending, not worsening.

What helps

  • Keeping nails short and hands busy Trimmed nails do less damage at night.
  • Covering bumps with clothing or a plaster Stops self-spread and spread to other children.
  • Own towel, own flannel, no shared baths Keeps it out of the household.
  • Stopping shaving over the affected area In adults this alone often halts spread.

What makes it worse

  • Scratching Breaks a bump open and plants virus nearby.
  • Picking or squeezing bumps Releases the virus-packed core onto nearby skin.
  • Shaving over or near bumps Seeds molluscum along the path.
  • Sharing bath things Towels, flannels, sponges and bath water.
  • Shared mats and equipment Moves between athletes on mats.
  • Rubbing, friction and occlusive clothing Friction breaks the surface and moves virus.

What helps

  • Treating eczema properly Less itching, less scratching, less spread.

What makes it worse

  • Untreated eczema An open door and a reason to scratch.

What helps

  • Cantharidin, applied in clinic A blistering agent painted on, washed off hours later.
  • Curettage Bumps scraped off in one visit, after numbing cream.
  • Prescription topical treatments Berdazimer gel, retinoids and potassium hydroxide.
  • Cryotherapy Freezing works, but it hurts and can leave marks.
  • Treating a few bumps first Shows how the skin reacts before thirty.

What makes it worse

  • Aggressive home treatment Digging or burning leaves scars and dark marks.

What helps

  • Watchful waiting The infection ends on its own and leaves nothing.
  • Imiquimod Studied in children; did not beat placebo.
  • Give the whole thing time Six to eighteen months is normal; so are new bumps.

What makes it worse

  • Strong steroid creams on the bumps They calm redness and help the virus persist.
  • Medicines that suppress the immune system Can turn a minor infection extensive.

How These Treatments Work

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Treatments for Molluscum Contagiosum do not all work in the same place. Tap one to see where it acts.

Pick a treatment
Skin basics
BARRIEREPIDERMISDERMISIT CLEARS ON ITS OWNBLISTERS THE BUMPSCOOPS IT OUTSTOPS THE SCRATCH SPREADSTOPS IT SPREADING

Most clear within a year, once the immune system recognizes the virus.

Applied in the office. The blister lifts the infected skin off.

Fast and effective, and not always comfortable for young children.

Scratching moves the virus along the skin.

Mostly to brothers and sisters, and mostly in the bath.

The outer film of dead cells and oil. It holds water in and keeps irritants out, and it is thinner than a sheet of paper. Almost every dry, itchy, stinging skin problem starts here.

The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.

The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.

Over-the-Counter Products

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Everything here you can buy without seeing anyone.

Watchful waiting
Watchful waiting
Always
Doing nothing is a real plan, and for a lot of children it is the best one. The infection ends on its own, usually within six to eighteen months, and it leaves nothing behind if the bumps are left alone. No treatment has been shown to change the long-run outcome dramatically. The cost of waiting is time; the cost of treating is discomfort and, sometimes, marks that outlast the bumps.
Cover bumps, keep nails short
Cover bumps, keep nails short
Moderate evidence
Most molluscum spread is self-spread, carried from one patch of skin to another on fingernails, razors and towels. Trimmed nails do less damage during sleep scratching, clothing or a plaster over the bumps stops them being caught and stops them reaching other children, and everyone having their own towel keeps it out of the rest of the household. In adults, simply stopping shaving over the area often halts the spread on its own.
A plain white ointment tube lying on its side, labeled Hydrocortisone with a blue swoosh16:9 hero for Hydrocortisone. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.
Moderate evidence
For the dry itchy eczema-like patch that develops around the bumps in about a third of children — not for the bumps themselves. Treating it properly matters, because the itch drives the scratching and the scratching is what spreads the infection. Use it on the skin between and around the bumps, thinly and for a short course. Strong steroid creams applied over the bumps calm the redness and can help the virus stay longer.
Paula's Choice 2% BHA exfoliant, La Roche-Posay Effaclar cleanser and a CeraVe psoriasis cream pumpLabeled cutaway diagram of a single skin pore, headed Salicylic Acid. The epidermis is a brick-textured band across the top and the dermis is pink below it, with a yellow oil gland at the base of the pore and a small cluster of bacteria inside it. A single dark navy callout line points into the top of the pore: decreases dead cells in pore. There are no other callouts, so the drawing shows one effect where the other ingredient diagrams show two or three.
Weak evidence
The wart products in the pharmacy are the wrong tool here. Molluscum is a poxvirus, not the wart virus, and the bumps are soft domes rather than thickened skin for an acid to dissolve. On thin skin, on a child, and on thirty bumps at once, it mostly buys irritation and dark marks. If a bump is going to be treated, the clinic options are more reliable and better controlled.
Five dark glass tea tree essential oil bottles with glass droppers and one green box on white16:9 hero for Tea Tree Oil. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.
Weak evidence
A common suggestion, usually combined with iodine, and the evidence behind it is a small number of low-quality studies. Against an infection that clears by itself, that is very hard to read. The real drawback is that it stings and it commonly causes an allergic rash on children's skin, which then itches, which then gets scratched.

Prescriptions

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These need a prescription.

A white small dropper bottle on a white background, with a plain white label reading Potassium Hydroxide and a blue swoosh beneath it.
Potassium hydroxide solution
Moderate evidence
A dilute alkaline solution dabbed on individual bumps at home, usually once or twice a day until each bump becomes inflamed and then clears. It is cheap and it can be done without appointments. It stings, it works by irritating the skin, and it can leave dark or pale marks if it is overdone — so it goes on the bumps only, and starting with a few is sensible.
A white cream tube lying on its side on a white background, with a plain white label reading Berdazimer and a blue swoosh beneath it.
Berdazimer gel
Moderate evidence
A newer prescription gel mixed and applied at home once a day, designed specifically for molluscum. In its trials about a third of children had all their bumps clear at twelve weeks, against roughly one in five given the placebo gel — a real effect, but a modest one. Redness and irritation where it is applied are common, and cost and availability are the practical limits.
A plain white medicine tube lying at an angle on a white background, capped, labeled Tretinoin in black with a navy blue swoosh curving along its length.Diagram: how Tretinoin works in the skin
Limited evidence
A retinoid dabbed onto individual bumps to irritate them into clearing. It is sometimes chosen for bumps on the face, where blistering or scraping is less appealing. The evidence for it in molluscum is thin, it is slow, and it makes the skin around the bumps red and flaky, which is its own reason to scratch.
A white cream tube lying on its side on a white background, with a plain white label reading Imiquimod and a blue swoosh beneath it.
Imiquimod
Weak evidence
This one was studied properly in children, in two large trials, and it did not work any better than the placebo cream — while causing more skin reactions, and in some children pain and swelling. It is still prescribed for molluscum out of habit. On the evidence there is, it should not be.
An amber prescription bottle lying on its side on a white background with a plain white label reading Cimetidine, and six small round white tablets spilled out in front of it.
Cimetidine
Weak evidence
An old stomach-acid tablet, taken by mouth for several weeks in the hope of nudging the immune system into recognizing the virus. It appeals because it is painless and needs no procedure, which matters for a frightened child with many bumps. The trials do not support it, and it interacts with a number of other medicines, so it is a long shot rather than a plan.

Procedures

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These are done in the office, usually over several visits.

16:9 hero for Cantharidin. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.Diagram: how Cantharidin works in the skin
Moderate evidence
A blistering liquid painted onto each bump in the clinic and washed off a few hours later at home. A small blister forms over the next day and the bump lifts off with it. It is painless to apply, which is why it suits children, and it usually takes two or three visits. It is not used on the face or the genitals, and it can leave a dark or pale mark, so a few bumps are treated first to see how the skin reacts.
Curettage
Moderate evidence
The bumps are scraped off with a small looped instrument, usually after numbing cream has been left on for an hour. It is the fastest option — most of a crop can be dealt with in one visit — and it is the one that gives an immediate result. It is uncomfortable even with numbing, small children often find it distressing, and it can leave small marks or pitted scars where bumps were deep.
16:9 hero for Cryotherapy (Liquid Nitrogen). Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.Diagram: how Cryotherapy (Liquid Nitrogen) works in the skin
Moderate evidence
Each bump is frozen for a few seconds, and it usually takes several visits a few weeks apart. It works, and it is quick. It also stings sharply at the time, which most young children will not sit through twice, and it leaves dark or pale marks more readily than the other options — a real consideration on deeper skin tones, where those marks can last longer than the infection would have.

When to See a Dermatologist

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Most molluscum never needs a dermatologist; being told with confidence that it is molluscum and will pass is often the whole value of the visit. Book if you are not sure what the bumps are, if they are on or near the eyelid, if there are large numbers or they keep spreading, if a bump is bleeding or torn open repeatedly, if the eczema around them is not settling with what you have at home, or because the family wants them treated. Get seen sooner for spreading redness and warmth around a bump with pain or fever, and anyone with a suppressed immune system who develops widespread or unusually large bumps should be assessed, not treated at home. Adults with bumps in the groin or genital area should be seen to confirm it and arrange testing for other sexually transmitted infections; the bumps need no test — the dip in the middle identifies them.

— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist

Complications

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Bacterial infection

A bump that has been scratched or torn open can let ordinary skin bacteria in, and it can turn into impetigo. This is the one thing that looks like the harmless red flare of a bump clearing, so the difference is worth knowing: redness that spreads outward into the skin around the bump, warmth, pus, or fever means it needs checking that week. A single angry bump with normal skin around it is usually good news. Keeping nails short and covering broken bumps is most of the prevention.

Marks and scars from picking

Molluscum itself does not scar. Small round pitted scars come from picking, deep scratching and treatments that burn or blister the skin harder than they needed to. Flat dark or pale marks are far more common and are not scars — they fade over months, more slowly on deeper skin tones. Leaving the bumps alone, treating the itchy skin around them, and starting with a few bumps rather than thirty is how most of this is avoided.

Bumps on the eyelid

A bump on the eyelid margin or very close to the eye can rub the surface of the eye and cause a red, watery, irritated eye that does not settle. It is uncommon, and it is one of the few molluscum situations that should not simply be waited out. The bumps here are treated carefully rather than frozen or scraped, and an eye assessment is sometimes needed as well.

Lookalikes

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Warts

The mix-up that matters most, because the treatments are different. Both are small firm bumps a child picks up from contact, but a wart has a rough, grainy surface, often with tiny dark dots in it, and no dip in the middle. Molluscum bumps are smooth, dome-shaped and pearly with a central dip. They are caused by completely different viruses, and wart removers bought for one are not the answer for the other.

Milia

Both are small firm white bumps, and on a baby's or child's face they are easy to confuse. Milia are smaller, usually one to two millimetres, hard, chalky white and completely smooth on top with no dip in the center. They are trapped keratin rather than an infection, so they do not spread, do not run in lines and are not caught from anyone. Molluscum bumps are larger, dimpled, and they multiply.

Keratosis Pilaris

Both cover a child's arms in small bumps, and both are harmless. Keratosis pilaris bumps are much smaller, rough like sandpaper, and there are dozens of them evenly spread over the backs of the upper arms and the fronts of the thighs, one at each hair. Molluscum bumps are bigger, smooth, dome-shaped with a dip on top, and they come in scattered clusters and lines rather than covering an area evenly.

Myths

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  • "Molluscum is a form of warts." It is not Warts come from human papillomavirus, molluscum from a poxvirus. They spread and are treated differently, so wart products are not the answer.
  • "The red, angry bump means it is infected." Usually the opposite. A bump that goes red, swollen and tender is most often clearing, because the immune system has recognized the virus — the beginning-of-the-end sign, often treated with antibiotics that were never needed. Spreading redness, warmth, pus and fever should be checked, but a single angry bump is usually good news.
  • "You catch it from swimming pool water." The link is shared towels, kickboards, floats and wet skin contact, not the water.
  • "It has to be treated or it will never go." It goes on its own, usually within six to eighteen months. No treatment changes the long-run outcome much, which is why watchful waiting is legitimate.
  • "Molluscum scars." The infection itself does not scar. Scars come from picking, deep scratching and aggressive treatment. Flat dark or pale marks are different - they fade over months.
  • "Children with molluscum should stay off school or out of the pool." Neither is recommended. Cover bumps where practical and do not share towels or equipment; keeping a child out for a year over a harmless infection is not a reasonable trade.
  • "An adult with molluscum in the groin must have caught it sexually." In adults that is the usual route, worth discussing honestly, but it also spreads by ordinary skin contact and shared items, including from a child in the household.

Questions Patients Ask

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How long will this last?

Usually six to eighteen months, sometimes longer, with new bumps appearing while older ones clear. That is the normal course, not a sign something is wrong. Children with eczema are at the longer end.

One of the bumps has gone red and angry. Is it infected?

Most often it is clearing. As the immune system recognizes the virus, bumps become red, swollen and tender, sometimes crusted, then disappear — the beginning-of-the-end sign. Genuine bacterial infection is possible, so redness spreading outward with warmth, pus or fever should be checked the same week.

Should my child stay home from school or stop swimming?

No. Molluscum is not a reason to miss school, nursery or swimming. Cover the bumps where practical, use your own towel, and do not share kickboards and floats.

Does it need to be treated?

Not for medical reasons - it clears on its own and leaves nothing behind if left alone. Treating is reasonable when the bumps are in an awkward place, being scratched raw, very numerous, keeping eczema stirred up, or when the family has had enough.

Will it leave scars?

The infection itself does not scar. Scars come from picking, deep scratching or aggressive treatment. Flat dark or pale marks where bumps sat are not scars - they fade over several months, more slowly on deeper skin tones.

I am an adult with these in my groin. What does that mean?

In adults, molluscum in the groin, genitals and inner thighs is usually passed through sexual contact, so it is worth being seen and worth testing for other sexually transmitted infections. It can also arrive by ordinary skin contact or shared towels, including from a child in the house, so it is not proof of anything.

References

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