Foreign body post-varicella granulomas due to talc

Abstract

Foreign body granulomas in the skin have been described frequently and may have various causes. Diagnosis is relatively easy in most cases, as most are related to foreign material penetrating into the skin due to different kinds of traumas. We present the case of a boy with multiple facial granulomas, persisting more than 6 months and related to the use of topical anti-pruriginous talc powder applied to papuloexudative lesions caused by varicella. Data gathered in the anamnesis, examination with polarized light and images seen through the electron microscope enabled us to identify the causal agent talc as the inducer of the granulomatous lesions that the patient presented, discarding other types of foreign body granulomas of exogenous origin.