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An emergency room doctor has shared a sobering story from his university days after learning that a former classmate died following what initially seemed like a harmless beauty habit.
Dr Joe Whittington, a US-based ER physician who now shares medical insights with more than five million followers online, recently recounted the experience in a video that has prompted thousands of viewers to rethink squeezing spots around a specific part of the face.
'My friend died after popping a pimple on her face, and I'm going to tell you the story,' he said in the clip which has been viewed more than 430,000 times.
'And before you say "no way", I thought the same thing,' he continued.
Dr Joe, as he refers to himself, explained that the incident happened while he was still an undergraduate student, when a young woman in several of his science classes suddenly stopped showing up.
'She was really nice and like a lot of college students, she dealt with moderate acne. Nothing unusual.'
After she missed multiple classes, rumours began circulating around campus. Dr Joe and others then heard the news that made everyone 'uneasy' - she was in hospital.
Just days later, the news became even more devastating, with Dr Joe explaining that the young woman had passed away.
An emergency room doctor has shared a sobering story from his university days after learning that a former classmate died following what initially seemed like a harmless beauty habit
At the time, he said the situation made little sense to him, especially considering how healthy she had seemed just a couple of weeks earlier.
According to Dr Joe, months later, someone in their class spoke to the woman's sister, who revealed how the infection had begun.
'She had popped a pimple on her face, right between her nose and upper lip.'
At first, the spot didn't appear particularly concerning, but the area soon became painful and swollen before spreading.
'Over the next several days, the infection kept getting worse and eventually it became so severe that she was hospitalised and died from the infection.'
Years later, while studying medicine, Dr Joe finally learned the reason doctors take infections in that part of the face so seriously, as he learned about 'the triangle of death'.
The so-called triangle covers the area stretching from the bridge of the nose down to the corners of the mouth.
'The veins in there connect directly to the veins that drain towards the brain. And unlike many of the veins in the body, they don't have valves,' he explained.
Despite the alarming story, Dr Joe stressed that such complications are extremely uncommon; millions of people pop pimples without serious repercussions
This unique anatomy means bacteria from a severe infection can, in rare circumstances, travel deeper into the skull.
'That means a serious infection in that area can sometimes spread deeper into the head and cause a rare but life-threatening complication called cavernous sinus thrombosis.'
'Thanks for that I was looking for something new to give me anxiety and keep me up at night,' one follower joked.
'We learned this from 8th grade health textbook, I can still see the diagram,' another revealed.
'So, I’ve been playin' Russian roulette all that time and won? I need to play the lottery,' a third wrote.
Despite the alarming story, Dr Joe stressed that such complications are extremely uncommon; millions of people pop pimples without serious repercussions.
However, doctors are still cautious when infections occur around the nose and upper lip because of the potential pathway to the brain.
'Infections on the face, especially around the nose and upper lip, are something that doctors take seriously,' he said.
