I popped a pimple in the ‘triangle of death' and ended up in urgent care on 4 prescription drugs
That's the warning from mom of three Lish Marie, who ended up in urgent care — and filling four different prescriptions — after simply popping a pimple on her face.
But the spot in question sat in what dermatologists call the 'triangle of death' — and her blemish blunder could have actually killed her.
5 Lish Marie is warning people against popping a pimple in the 'triangle of death' after it landed her in urgent care.
TikTok/lishmarie1
5 Her face got swollen and her smile was crooked within hours of popping the pimple just below her nose.
TikTok/lishmarie1
Lish (@lishmarie1) tried to pop a cyst pimple just below her nostril, a pretty common place for zits to grow.
Within four hours, things got 'bad,' she said, with that side of her face swelling so much that when she tried to smile, only the opposite side actually raised into a grin.
She said the results were 'extremely painful' and doctors at urgent care put her on four medications to take care of the infection, including steroids and antibiotics.
Lish's pimple fell inside the 'triangle of death,' an area of the face where a popped pimple can release bacteria into the brain, leading to potentially life-threatening infections.
'Popping pimples in the center of the face can be particularly dangerous,' NYC-based dermatologist Dr. Mark Strom said in a TikTok last year.
'The area of the face from the bridge of the nose down to the corners of the mouth has veins that connect directly to the brain via a blood vessel called the cavernous sinus,' he said.
5 Fortunately, after four medications, she was back to normal within a few days.
TikTok/lishmarie1
When you squeeze a zit there, you leave a small open wound through which bacteria (like from your hands or the air) can enter the bloodstream. This can lead to infection, which may then be carried to the brain.
Complications can include blindness, stroke, paralysis and even death.
Another TikTokker named Hope (@imlesbianflavored) revealed in 2023 that in her case, it lead to a staph infection that was 'worse than childbirth' and left her with a scar.
Well aware of the 'triangle of death,' Lish knew she got lucky: 'I think I caught mine extremely quick, within hours so I'm on a ton of meds,' she said.
Twenty-four hours later she was doing better, though she noted that her smile was still a bit 'crooked,' and three days later she was '100% back to normal.'
While lots of commenters chimed in to say that they'd popped plenty of pimples in the area without incident, others shared similarly scary experiences.
'Happened to my daughter. We spent a week in the hospital and she had to have surgery on her face,' wrote one mom, while another said her son was hospitalized when his turned into a staph infection.
'I almost died from this. It's no joke, was hospitalized for a week and a half and had surgery,' wrote yet another commenter.
5 'Popping pimples in the center of the face can be particularly dangerous,' NYC-based dermatologist Dr. Mark Strom said in a TikTok last year.
TikTok/dermarkologist
5 The triangle is 'the area of the face from the bridge of the nose down to the corners of the mouth,' Dr. Strom explained.
Khunatorn – stock.adobe.com
If you absolutely must pop a pimple — after trying a spot treatment or pimple patches — dermatologist Dr. Mamina Turegano says to begin by sterilizing your hands and the area with rubbing alcohol.
'Then poke the pimple with a diabetic lancet, which has a very tiny needle, to open the surface with a small prick that 'won't cause too much damage,' she said in an Instagram video.
Apply slight pressure with two cotton swabs to let the contents drain out.
'When popping a pimple it's very important that you're not applying a lot of pressure otherwise you're gonna get a lot more inflammation and result in scarring,' Turegano advised.
But she, too, advises against touching anything in the 'triangle of death.'
'Really, don't mess with it. Spot treatment it or see a derm,' Tuergano insisted.
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