The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
A doctor on TikTok has warned against popping pimples in a certain area of your face because it could lead to a potentially deadly infection.
Dr Ever Arias, a resident doctor at University of California, Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California regularly reacts to videos of Gen-Zers popping pimples on their noses to remind them ‘this is something you should never, ever do.’
One of his most recent videos, which has garnered more than million views, shows Dr Arias explaining to his 145,000 followers that if bacteria gets into the popped zit, it could cause meningitis — a life-threatening brain and spinal cord infection.
Dr Arias says no pimple should be popped on your face in the area dubbed the ‘triangle of death’ or the ‘danger triangle,’ which covers the triangular area of your face from the bridge of the nose to both corners of the mouth.
Dr Arias says no pimple should be popped in the section from the bridge of your nose to the corners of your mouth — known as the ‘triangle of death’ or ‘danger triangle’
‘There is a reason why this area is called the triangle of death — because it has resulted in a number of cases of people losing their lives as the result of popping a pimple in this area,’ he said.
‘These life-threatening infections occur because the facial nerve, which is right in the triangle of death, connects to something called your cavernous sinus, which is a system of veins that drain into the brain.’
The cavernous sinus is a network of veins that are a part of the brain’s extended structure at the base of the skull, behind the eyes and below the front part of the brain.
When you pop a pimple, it damages the skin and causes a ‘microscopic wound.’
Bacteria can enter this wound and get into the bloodstream. Once there, it can cause a very serious infection and inflammation.
‘Inflammation could result in cold blood clots called keratin sinus thrombosis [a rare type of blood clot], but it could also result in an infection called meningitis, which is an infection of the meninges or brain tissue.
‘It could also result in even brain abscesses.’
Meningitis is a bacterial infection in the surrounding areas of the brain and spinal cord that causes swelling and could lead to death.
At this point, Dr Arias said, patients would be suffering ‘confusion, fever, seizures, or even death.’
He added: ‘Even though it’s rare, my recommendation is to not pop any pimples in that area because the chances of you getting this could be low. But it could be very life-threatening with a very high mortality rate.’
