# Pigmented, Birefringent Material Causing Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction

## TL;DR

A woman's eye watering was caused by makeup particles blocking her tear duct, highlighting the importance of history in diagnosis.

## Contribution

The paper highlights the diagnostic importance of patient history in distinguishing cosmetic-related obstructions from melanocytic diseases.

## Key findings

- Pigmented, birefringent foreign bodies from cosmetics caused complete nasolacrimal duct obstruction.
- Granulomatous inflammation was observed around the foreign bodies on histopathology.
- Patient history is crucial to differentiate cosmetic causes from melanocytic processes like melanoma.

## Abstract

We present a case of a woman with epiphora secondary to complete nasolacrimal duct obstruction due to granulomatous inflammation around pigmented, birefringent foreign bodies, consistent with cosmetics. History is critical when evaluating epiphora to differentiate an innate melanocytic process, such as melanoma, from exogenous sources such as cosmetics on histopathology.