Woman, 32, rushed to hospital after popping pimple on her ‘triangle of death’

Alisha Monaco, 32, was left in “excruciating” pain after popping a pimple in the ‘triangle of death’ on her face, which left her with one of ‘the worst’ pimples she’d ever had

A woman who squeezed a spot in the lesser-known ‘triangle of death’ area on her face ended up being rushed to hospital after experiencing dizziness and “excruciating” pain.

Alisha Monaco had no clue it was risky to pop a pimple in the ‘danger triangle’ – the region between the corners of the mouth and the bridge of the nose. Because of its link to the cavernous sinus, an area in the brain, prodding or squeezing spots can result in severe infections.

The 32 year old, who shared the ordeal in a TikTok that racked up 7.8 million views, said it looked like a typical pimple, which she tends to get multiple times each month. When she couldn’t squeeze it out, she prodded it with a sterilised spot-popping needle tool and her ear popped simultaneously, causing immediate dizziness, reports the Mirror.

“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 mother-of-three rang her husband to return home to look after the children in the morning whilst she headed 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 pleased I came in because the swelling was so severe. Immediate treatment was necessary due to the high risk of infection in that area.

She was prescribed four different medications to manage her symptoms and prevent the spread of infection, after which she was discharged from the hospital. Thankfully, her recovery at home has been progressing well.

However, she took to TikTok to highlight the risks associated with the ‘triangle of death’ zone, having previously come across it on the platform.

Alisha shared: “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 explained: “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.”