- A pimple should not be popped in the area called the ‘triangle of death’
- Squeezing a pimple here can lead to a potentially fatal infection
- READ MORE: Mother, 31, dies of fungal meningitis after breast augmentation in Mexico
A doctor on TikTok has warned against popping pimples on a certain part of your face as it could lead to a potentially fatal infection.
Dr. Ever Arias, a doctor at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California, regularly responds to videos of Gen-Zers putting pimples on their noses to remind themthis is something you should never, ever do.”
In one of his most recent videos, which has been viewed more than a million times, Dr. Arias explains to his 145,000 followers that if bacteria get into the pimple, it can cause meningitis: a life-threatening infection of the brain and spinal cord.
Dr. Arias says not to pop a pimple on your face in the area called the “triangle of death” or the “warning triangle,” which covers the triangular area of your face from the bridge of your nose to both corners of your mouth.
Dr. Arias says that a pimple should not be popped in the area from the bridge of your nose to the corners of your mouth – known as the ‘triangle of death’ or ‘warning triangle’
“There is a reason why this area is called the triangle of death – because it has led to a number of cases of people losing their lives due to popping a pimple in this area,” he said.
“These life-threatening infections occur because the facial nerve, which is located right in the triangle of death, connects to something called your cavernous sinus, a system of veins that drain into the brain.”
The cavernous sinus is a network of veins that are part of the extensive structure of the brain at the base of the skull, behind the eyes and under 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 enter the bloodstream. Once there it can cause a very serious infection and inflammation.
‘Inflammation can result in cold blood clots called keratin sinus thrombosis (a rare type of blood clot), but it can also result in an infection called meningitis, an infection of the meninges or brain tissue.
‘It could even lead to brain abscesses.’
Meningitis is a bacterial infection in the surrounding areas of the brain and spinal cord that causes swelling and can lead to death.
At this point, Dr. Arias said, patients would suffer ‘confusion, fever, seizures, or even death.’
He added: ‘Even though it is rare, my recommendation is not to pop pimples in that area as the chances of you getting this are slim. But it can be very life-threatening, with a very high mortality rate.’