Chloracne has been a troublesome condition to treat in our experience. In spite of x-ray therapy, antibiotics, and the usual local treatment for acne, it persists for a year or more. The secondary infection can be controlled by antibiotics, but the small comedo papules remain. These are resistant to removal by puncturing with a sharp scalpel and the use of a comedo extractor. The eyelids are usually involved with these indolent lesions.
We have seen eight patients in the past year with chloracne due to Unichrome wax used in chrome electroplating. Three patients with this condition were planed once after they failed to respond to six months of other local therapy. The planing removed the top portion of the hundreds of small papules after which they cleared promptly. The other five patients have served as controls. After six months additional conservative treatment, the eruption is still present.
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