Pityriasis Rosea and Molluscum?

About 5 1/2 weeks ago I was misdiagnosed with ringworm by a GP... the rash spread and was clearly not ringworm so I went to a dermatologist. I had a very obvious 'herald patch' (hence, the misdiagnosis) on the inside of my left forearm. It was itchy, and showed up days before any other symptoms. Doc agreed with my suspicion and diagnosed me with pityriasis rosea, which by this time had spread to my other arm, my inner upper arms, and my thighs and buttocks (I had what appeared to be a second herald patch on my right thigh). My trunk, face, and neck seemed to be spared; apparently an inverse case. He gave me some steroid cream to help with any itching I might have (which I didn't really... the herald patch was initially itchy, but the itch had subsided) and told me to come back in two weeks for a checkup. At my checkup, he thought everything was looking better already (and so did I) and scheduled a checkup for 3 months to make sure everything healed nicely. Since then, the healing seems to have stalled out with the spots on my arms mostly faded and my thighs and butt still somewhat spotty, I figured it is just doing its thing, and continued to remain patient. The past couple days I've noticed something new emerging, however. Small flesh-colored/slightly pink bumps initially on my lower abdomen which are now spreading up my trunk and are now on my chest, stomach, etc.. These looked different than the pityriasis lesions so I searched online and found that they appear just like molluscum contagiosum. So my question to you is this: is it possible these are just some type of manifestation of the pityriasis? Or is this definitely separate? Does the coincidence of these rashes lead you to suspect any underlying condition I should be concerned about? Should I go back to the doctor or try to wait it out? Thank you for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms they sound like molluscum contagiosum. It is not a manifestation of pityriasis rosea but can appear when the immune system is lowered as when a person is suffering from some other illness.
Molluscum contagiosum is a common, benign, self limiting viral infection of the skin. In adults, molluscum infections can transmit from one site to other skin sites by autoinoculation and treatment  which is usually in severe cases includes physical destruction or manual extrusion of the lesions, cryotherapy, and curettage. My sincere advice would be to get it evaluated from a dermatologist.
Hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.