A teenage girl in China has suffered a severe infection inside her brain after she popped a pimple on her nose with her hands.
The 19-year-old, known by her surname Yang, felt a persistent pain under the skin around her right eye soon after she squeezed the red spot on the tip of her nose.
She was rushed to a hospital in eastern Chinese province Zhejiang a few days later when she developed a fever while her right eye became extremely swollen.
The incident was brought to light when Ms Yang’s family recently took her to seek medical attention at the Second Hospital of Ningbo in the city of Ninghai.
The ‘Triangle of Death’ stretches from the tip of the nose to a point on either side of the lips, roughly where dimples usually appear.
The young woman was diagnosed with cavernous sinus thrombosis, a blood clot in the cavernous sinuses, which are hollow spaces located under the brain, behind each eye socket.
A blood clot can develop when an infection spreads to the cavernous sinuses from the nose, sinuses, ears, or teeth.
The condition can be life-threatening even with prompt treatment. As many as one in three people with the condition may die.
Doctors said that Ms Yang’s infection developed after she popped the pimple on her nasal tip, part of an area known as the ‘Triangle of Death’.
Also named as the Danger Triangle, the ‘Triangle of Death’ stretches from the tip of the nose to a point on either side of the lips, roughly where dimples usually appear.
Medical experts warn that picking at skin inside this danger zone can have serious implications for your overall health.