Triangle of Face- Dangerous, Dramatic, Deathly!
When it comes to our face nothing can be as scary and dramatic as a “pimple”. Yes, you heard it correct the first time, it the so not innocent, showing up at the wrong time and painfully bumpy pimple we will be drawing our attention to! But how can popping one tiny bump on our face make us rush to the emergency room within minutes? Let us understand the dangerous area of the face often referred to as the “Triangle of death” or “danger triangle”.
- How to demarcate the danger triangle?
The area on the face that includes the nose and corner of the mouth marks as the danger area. To clearly outline it we can form a triangle with the help of thumbs and pointer fingers of both hands. Touch the tip of thumbs together, and now bring the tips of pointer finger to touch each other, a triangle is formed. Now bring this triangle to your face so that the thumb portion lines with the corner of the lips and the pointer fingertip rest above the bridge of the nose. This outline establishes the “danger triangle”.
- It’s all connected!
Four major nerves are present within this danger triangle, now depending on which nerve is affected one can develop several impaired motor functions around the mouth and eyelids.
Partial or complete parasthesia of jaw, vision loss, and facial paralysis are some of the after-effects seen.
If the skin in this area is broken due to varying reasons like cuts, injuries, proding a pimple with tweezers or nails, plucking out nose hairs, etc, the bacteria can easily enter the body.
Bacterial infection spread from this area are quite rare but once it occurs they can lead to blood clot formation in the sinus cavity and thus travel to cavernous sinus as the blood vessels from the triangular area are closely linked with blood vessels of the brain.
Although serious complications with the brain are rare it still increases the chances of meningitis, stroke, and death.
“If there is a break in the skin barrier, cellulitis — an infection in the skin — furunculosis [boils], or infections in the hair follicles, can occur,” Dr. Dina Strachan, a board-certified dermatologist in New York, told Healthline.
A staph infection is the most common spreader in this case and once it invades the body, the spread is very quick via the bloodstream. Now because this area is very close to the critical portion of the brain, it accesses the control center of the body thus a person is left with less time to react and the condition leads to several serious complications and many times proves to be fatal.
- Major no-no’s! Prevention and cure.
As if Bermuda and love triangle weren’t dramatically dangerous enough one more “triangle of death” is added to the list.
If a particular pimple looks or feels different leave it alone and observe it. Seek medical attention or opinion if needed. To save yourself a trip to ER, avoid the below mention don’ts.
- Do not pluck nose or ear hairs.
- Never pop a pimple, no matter how irresistible it seems, because not only it could cause infection but also pimple-popping leaves skin scarring, redness, discoloration, or hyperpigmentation.
- Do not reuse make-up brushes and sponges before washing.
- Don’t leave even a minor cut open.
Hence, infections in this area, which ofcourse includes parodontitis, should be taken very seriously to prevent complications.
