A 15-year-old girl in Nepal experienced large, rubbery keloids emerging from her chickenpox scars, in what doctors describe as only the sixth documented case worldwide. The growths appeared suddenly on her jaw, chest, abdomen, and flank after she recovered from the infection. Her case appears in the journal Clinical Case Reports.
The teenager contracted chickenpox, confirmed at a clinic and treated with the antiviral acyclovir. Several weeks later, as her scabs healed into scars, five firm nodules burst forth across her body. The largest, on her chest, measured 4 by 4 centimeters. Doctors diagnosed eruptive keloids, a rare complication where wound healing spirals out of control, producing excess collagen from overactive fibroblasts. Genetics and skin tone may contribute, though the exact trigger from varicella remains unclear, her physicians noted in the report published this week in Clinical Case Reports. They observed the growths for three months and found them stable, with no rapid expansion. Treatment poses challenges: surgery risks recurrence rates up to 100 percent, while options like cryotherapy, lasers, or corticosteroids carry limitations. Facing costs and preferences, the otherwise healthy teen chose to manage itching and pain with antihistamines and acetaminophen, forgoing aggressive interventions. Chickenpox prevention remains straightforward, with two doses of the varicella vaccine providing 97 percent protection since its 1995 U.S. introduction.