Iodine and Betadine
Both iodine and betadine have been proposed as possible treatments for molluscum contagiosum. While they are great antiseptics, they don't really work for molluscum contagiosum.
Why?
Both iodine and betadene are great antiseptics. They kill bacteria and viruses on contact. But that is the keyword: "CONTACT". The molluscum virus is under your skin and protected by your skin. Neither betadine nor iodine does a good job at penetrating the skin to reach the virus. Therefore, if you apply either product to a molluscum bump, it will simply dry on the skin without ever reaching the virus. The same applies to alcohol.
Some people advocate cutting the molluscum bumps and then applying iodine and betadine. This way, the liquid will penetrate into the skin and kill the virus. Well, good luck doing that. I would definitely not recommend cutting into your own skin, or your child's skin, especially if there are multiple bumps. This will lead to pain, infections, and scarring. Plus, it is unlikely that you will kill all the virus, so it may not work, especially if there are many bumps you have to deal with.
Personal Experience
I treated some of my molluscum contagiosum bumps with iodine. I even wents as far is puncturing one of the bumps with a needle to get the iodine in. Other than a brown stain on my skin which persisted for more than a week, I saw no improvement.
Conclusion
Iodine and Betadine are very good antiseptics, but are useless when applied to the molluscum bumps because they cannot penetrate the skin. Cutting the bump to allow the liquid to seep through does not seem to help much either and cano potentially scar.
My Rating: 1/10
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