Woman hospitalised after popping spot in her 'triangle of death'
A woman who popped a pimple in the little-known 'triangle of death' area on her face was rushed to hospital after she became dizzy and was left in 'excruciating' pain. Alisha Monaco had no idea it was dangerous to pop a spot in the 'danger triangle' – an area between the corners of the mouth and the bridge of the nose.
Due to its connection to the cavernous sinus, a region in the brain, picking or squeezing pimples can lead to serious infections. The 32-year-old, who detailed the incident in a TikTok which garnered 7.8 million views, said it appeared to be an 'average' pimple, which she is prone to getting several times a month.
After failing to pop it, she poked it with a sanitised pimple popper needle tool and her ear popped at the same time, leading her to become dizzy immediately. 'I knew I'd messed up,' the 32-year-old said. 'The pain was all on the right bottom side of my nostril, down to my lip and even up the side of my face.
'I woke up four or five hours later in excruciating pain on my right side of my face. The whole right side of my face was swollen, my smile was crooked and my ear felt clogged on the right side.
'It was brutal. I was in so much pain just trying to smile/talk.'
The mum-of-three called her husband to come home to be with the children in the morning while she went to hospital. Alisha said: 'The urgent care staff was extremely kind to me and make a point to not let me feel embarrassed about being at the urgent care for popping a pimple.
'They were happy I came in because the swelling was so bad. I needed to get it treated immediately because the risk of infection in that location is dangerous.'
Alisha was given four prescription medications to keep her symptoms at bay – as well as the chance of infection spreading – and was allowed to leave hospital. Thankfully, she has been recovering well at home since – but took to TikTok to share the dangers, having previously heard about the 'triangle of death' zone there.
She said: 'I had a feeling after I popped the pimple that I needed to look it back up on TikTok to double check and sure enough my pimple was right in the triangle of death area.
'I [then] just wanted to warn others to learn from my experience. I don't have a huge following on social media so I had no idea that it was going to go so viral, but from reading the comments of all the people who weren't aware that the triangle of death was a thing, I'm glad I did.
'Now everyone can see what happened to me and hopefully they will just put a pimple patch on and leave that area alone!'
Dermatologist Alok Vij said: "Think of this small segment of your face as a direct line to your brain. That's thanks to your cavernous sinus, a network of large veins located behind your eye sockets. Through this sinus, blood drains from your brain. An infection in the danger triangle — like from a picked pimple, or a nose piercing gone wrong — has a small but not impossible chance of traveling from your face right to your brain, without much distance to cover between them.
'There is the possibility for a facial infection to become an infection that impacts the rest of your body."
Dr Vij added: 'Thankfully, it's relatively unlikely, but whenever there's a violation of the skin and interaction with bacteria, there's always a possibility for infection, which can lead to greater health concerns.'
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Daily Record
19 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Mum hospitalised squeezing spot on 'triangle of death' area of face
Alisha Monaco, 32, had no idea it was dangerous to pop a spot in that area of her face. A woman ended up in hospital after squeezing a spot in the little-known ' triangle of death ' area - leaving her in 'excruciating' pain. Alisha Monaco had no idea it was dangerous to pop a spot in the area on her face - between the corners of the mouth and the bridge of the nose. Due to its connection to the cavernous sinus, a region in the brain, picking or squeezing pimples can lead to serious infections. Alisha, 32, shared her experience on TikTok and said the spot appeared to be an 'average' pimple, which she is prone to getting several times a month. After failing to pop it, she poked it with a sanitised pimple popper needle tool and her ear popped at the same time, leading her to become dizzy immediately. She said: 'I knew I'd messed up. The pain was all on the right bottom side of my nostril, down to my lip and even up the side of my face. I woke up four or five hours later in excruciating pain on my right side of my face. "The whole right side of my face was swollen, my smile was crooked and my ear felt clogged on the right side. It was brutal. I was in so much pain just trying to smile/talk.' The mum-of-three called her husband to come home to be with the children in the morning while she went to hospital. Alisha said: 'The urgent care staff was extremely kind to me and make a point to not let me feel embarrassed about being at the urgent care for popping a pimple. They were happy I came in because the swelling was so bad. I needed to get it treated immediately because the risk of infection in that location is dangerous.' The Mirror reports that she was given four prescription medications to keep her symptoms at bay – as well as the chance of infection spreading – and was discharged. Since her return home, she has been recovering well, but took to TikTok to share the dangers, having previously heard about the ' triangle of death' zone there. She said: 'I had a feeling after I popped the pimple that I needed to look it back up on TikTok to double check and sure enough my pimple was right in the triangle of death area. 'I [then] just wanted to warn others to learn from my experience. I don't have a huge following on social media so I had no idea that it was going to go so viral, but from reading the comments of all the people who weren't aware that the triangle of death was a thing, I'm glad I did. 'Now everyone can see what happened to me and hopefully they will just put a pimple patch on and leave that area alone!' Dermatologist Alok Vij said: "Think of this small segment of your face as a direct line to your brain. That's thanks to your cavernous sinus, a network of large veins located behind your eye sockets. Through this sinus, blood drains from your brain. "An infection in the danger triangle — like from a picked pimple, or a nose piercing gone wrong — has a small but not impossible chance of traveling from your face right to your brain, without much distance to cover between them. There is the possibility for a facial infection to become an infection that impacts the rest of your body." Dr Vij added: 'Thankfully, it's relatively unlikely, but whenever there's a violation of the skin and interaction with bacteria, there's always a possibility for infection, which can lead to greater health concerns.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
I popped a pimple in the 'Triangle of Death' and ended up with a deadly infection
Popping a pimple may seem harmless, but one woman is urging people to be careful after she ended up in urgent care after squeezing a blemish in the deadly 'Triangle of Death.' Alisha Monaco recently revealed on TikTok that she tried to pop a cyst pimple just below her nose, but ended up in urgent care when the area got infected. The 'triangle of death,' where the zit was located, is the area between top of nose bridge to the sides of the mouth. According to Cleveland Clinic, 'It's one place where you should never pop a pimple, as it can lead to an infection in your brain.' In her now-viral video, Monaco explained that she popped the pimple, and within four hours, things got steadily worse as the area swelled and it became painful to touch. She explained that it got so swollen that when she tried to smile, only one side of her face was able to. Monaco told CTVNews she had tried to remove the blemish using a pimple poker, but knew something was wrong when her ears popped. Within hours, Monaco's condition had worsened and she developed symptoms of facial paralysis, so she knew that she needed medical help. 'I woke up four or five hours later and I just jumped up out of my bed because I could feel that I couldn't even smile on that side of my face,' she told the publication. 'My eye was a little bit swollen, getting blurry. My ear was all foggy.' Monaco went to urgent care, where she was prescribed four medications to threat the infection, with it ultimately taking three days to fully recover. Marianna Blyumin-Karasik, MD, told the Daily Mail that the 'Danger Death Triangle' is located on an area of the face that has a unique blood supply which communicates closely with the brain. 'This makes this danger zone a more vulnerable path for infection from skin to brain,' Dr. Blyumin-Karasik explained. 'So if we pick at the pimple in this danger zone, we may cause bacterial infection from the infected acne cyst to spread deeper into the skin and into this vulnerable blood stream.' 'This can cause infection of brain tissues and potential cavernous sinus thrombosis or clot of the major vain from the brain,' she continued. 'This can present as fever, headache, visual changes and facial paralysis.' Dermatologist Dr. Jodi Logerfo, from the Orentreich Medical Group, agreed, explaining that popping pimples in that area is 'dangerous' and puts you at risk for complications. 'It is extremely dangerous and should be avoided due to the high risk of serious infection that can lead to blood clots, as well as the spread of infection through the bloodstream, and other serious health risks,' she warned. 'You should never squeeze or manipulate pimples or other lesions in this high risk area.' Dr. Logerfo advised anyone who has what appears to be an infected pimple to seek immediate medical care. 'This is even more urgent if you have a fever, visual or neurological changes, or are in severe pain,' she urged. 'You should also seek medical care quickly if your symptoms are progressing and worsening rapidly.' To avoid complications, Dr. Logerfo said not to pop, squeeze, or use any sharp objects to drain pimples or cysts in this area, suggesting using appropriate topical treatments instead. 'You should have good facial hygiene,' she advised. 'Wash your face twice daily (morning and evening) with a mild cleanser that is appropriate for your skin type. 'Avoid using harsh products and do not exfoliate or scrub, which can cause further damage and infection. 'Make sure you keep your makeup sponges, brushes, and any other tools clean to prevent infection. 'Apply a moisturizer with nourishing hydrating ingredients like glycerin or hyaluronic acid. 'Use sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and reapply every 2 hours when outdoors,' she concluded.
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Mum rushed to hospital and unable to smile after popping pimple on face
Mum-of-two Alisha Monaco immediately became dizzy before suffering horrific pain in her face and waking up five hours later with a swollen face and unable to smile A woman who popped a spot in what has been labelled the little-known "triangle of death" on her face was rushed the hospital when she became dizzy and suffered "excruciating" pain. Alisha Monaco was completely unaware it was dangerous to pop a spot in the area between the corners of the mouth and the bridge of the nose. This is due to the connection to the cavernous sinus - a region in the brain - with picking or squeezing pimples potentially leading to serious infections. Alisha detailed the incident in a TikTok which has had more than 7.8 million views where she said it appeared to be an "average" spot, which she claims she is prone to getting several times a month. It comes after a man, 30, puts shoulder pain down to gym aches, then doctors ask where he'd like to die. After she failed to pop it, Alisha decided to poke it with a sanitised pimple popper needle tool, with her ear popping at the same time before she became immediately dizzy. The 32-year-old, who lives in Michigan, said: "I knew I'd messed up. "The pain was all on the right bottom side of my nostril, down to my lip and even up the side of my face. I woke up four or five hours later in excruciating pain on my right side of my face. "The whole right side of my face was swollen, my smile was crooked and my ear felt clogged on the right side. It was brutal. I was in so much pain just trying to smile/talk." The mum-of-three rang her husband and asked him to come home to be with their children while she went to get seen to. Alisha continued: "The urgent care staff was extremely kind to me and make a point to not let me feel embarrassed about being at the urgent care for popping a pimple. "They were happy I came in because the swelling was so bad. I needed to get it treated immediately because the risk of infection in that location is dangerous." Alisha was prescribed four different medications to keep her symptoms at bay as well as stopping the risk of the infection spreading before being allowed to leave hospital. She has since been recovering at home and has taken to TikTok to share the dangers of popping a spot in the "triangle of death" She said: "I had a feeling after I popped the pimple that I needed to look it back up on TikTok to double check and sure enough my pimple was right in the triangle of death area. I [then] just wanted to warn others to learn from my experience. "I don't have a huge following on social media so I had no idea that it was going to go so viral, but from reading the comments of all the people who weren't aware that the triangle of death was a thing, I'm glad I did. Now everyone can see what happened to me and hopefully they will just put a pimple patch on and leave that area alone."
