When you get a zit slap bang in the middle of your face, your reaction is usually to squeeze it immediately.
But health experts have warned picking or popping pimples in this area could have potentially fatal consequences.
According to The Daily Mail, the “triangle of death” — also known as the “danger triangle” — stretches from the top of the nose to a point on either side of the lips, roughly where dimples usually appear.
So why is this a risky zone?
Jeremy Brauer, clinical professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Medical Center, explains that the veins here lead back to the “cavernous sinus” located in the brain.
Squeezing a pimple can create an open wound, which can become infected by dirt from our hands and airborne bacteria.
The veins can then form clots to contain infections, which puts pressure on the brain, leading to partial or full paralysis and, in some cases death.
Left untreated an infection of the sinus cavity can also cause a total loss of vision, brain abscesses and meningitis.
Dr. Sandra Lee – aka Dr. Pimple Popper – adds that if inflammation from a pimple spreads to the inner part of the brain, there’s potential for blindness and a massive stroke.
The condition, known as Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis, kills 30 percent of those who contract it.
But before you start worrying too much, Brauer explained to Men’s Health that the chances of death are “exceedingly low.”
This is because these types of infections are treatable with antibiotics and would have to continue for quite a while before making their way to your brain.
They usually come with symptoms such as redness, swelling, tenderness, drainage and bleeding, or the spot will keep coming back and filling with pus.
While these symptoms certainly aren’t pleasant, they’re definitely noticeable, so you’d probably seek treatment before anything serious occurred.
Even so, we think we’ll be keeping away from the “triangle of death” from now on.
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