2-8 weeks after catching the virus that causes molluscum contagiosum, small shiny white, pearly spots appear on whatever part of your body contracted the virus from somebody else. If you catch molluscum contagiosum from sex, you'll probably get the spots around or on your genitals, groin, buttocks and stomach. The spots often have a visible dip in the middle and will normally clear up of their own accord after anything from six months to a year.
As the name suggests, molluscum contagiosum is very contagious. You can catch it whenever and wherever your body comes into contact with the virus. Intimate physical contact or even just sharing a towel with someone who has already has it could give you the virus. The goods news is that it's harmless.
To test for molluscum contagiosum, a doctor often just has to look at the spots. To get rid of them, a doctor may apply a lotion or freeze them off with liquid nitrogen. A more dramatic treatment is to scrape the top off the spot and inject a chemical into the remaining 'crater'.