Quick update.
I ordered Zymaderm which is a topical homeopathic. It's not the reduced strength homeo remedy, it's full strength of tea tree oil, echinecea and some other items. It does kill viruses, which I don't think the apple cider vinegar does. We had been using ACV for about a month. It seemed to help some spots but new ones came up. Plus, you have to mess w/bandages and cotton balls. Finally, I had to stop because the ACV burned my daughter's skin. I think the ACV works by breaking down the skin on the bumps so that they go away ... but it hurts the skin around it too. Plus, ACV does not kill 100% of the virus -- I checked on this. Vinegar is a good cleaning agent but not something you use when you need to clean up a virus or bacteria.
So, I am glad I switched away from ACV. I would NOT recommend ACV to anyone.
We've tried the Zymaderm for two weeks now. It doesn't irritate the skin, is painless and easy to apply. You don't need to cover the area with bandaids and whatnot. It does seem to reduce the spread and lessened some ones that were on their way out because they had already "popped."
However, I realized that I have to remove the core on the bumps otherwise they just hang on, even with the Zymaderm = which can take weeks to work on its own -- and meanwhile new bumps can form.
We tried a fine needle ... I pierced the bump and then doused it with the zymaderm hoping it would enter the new hole and kill the core. However, that had no effect. You have to physically remove the white core otherwise it just keeps on ticking. So right now, I remove, with flat tweezers, the core. I just pluck the bump up from above and you don't harm the surrounding skin AT ALL. It pinches for your l.o. and bleeds heavily, but the next day ... it's healing and the bump is gone. It's very quick -- my four year old had no problem with it.
I feel that the Zymaderm is a great adjunct to this mechanical removal -- because it is a gentle virucidal agent.
So, at this point, the rashy area in my daughter's groin is calming down, and we've got several spots that have disappeared. I finally feel like we have a handle on this.
I only remove one or two spots a day because my daughter requested we take it slow. However, I think it is best to remove them all at once, because then there is no more virus to create new spots. However, my daughter won't tolerate this. I may try a topical anesthetic and try to do more (daub some on in advance -- like lidocaine) but I am wary that adding another agent will irritate her skin so I may try a small patch first.
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