Squeezing the acne to cause intracranial infection is very dangerous
Recently, a 19-year-old Ningbo girl was hospitalized because she squeezed the acne on the bridge of her nose, causing an intracranial infection and suffering from “cavernous sinus thrombophlebitis”.
Acne on the face of young people, especially in the triangle area where the secretion of oil is strong, is more common. Many people squeeze out acne for aesthetic reasons. As everyone knows, this "squeezing" action is very dangerous.
So, what are the major hidden dangers that squeezing a small acne may bring?
First, let's take a look at how acne is formed.
Most people start to develop acne during adolescence. Hormones (androgens) surge during this period, and the face is "oiled". At the same time, the hair follicles are blocked and horny plugs are formed, and dense acne begins to appear.
Acne bacilli in hair follicles will inevitably multiply in large numbers when food (triglycerides) is sufficient, further aggravating inflammation and forming red acne.
Squeezing the acne will not only not remove the acne, but may make it worse and leave scars on the face.
Squeezing the acne on its own will spread inflammation and allow bacteria to enter. This will not only cause more obvious pigmentation, but even leave permanent, depressed scars.
What's more serious is that squeezing acne, especially the acne in the "dangerous triangle", may cause various infections and even life-threatening.
The human face has a "dangerous triangle", which is an isosceles triangle with the root of the human nasal bone as the vertex and the line of the two mouth corners as the base, including the upper and lower lips, nose and sides of the nose.
The distribution of veins and arteries in the triangle area are basically the same, and they form two deep and shallow nets respectively.
The deep venous network not only communicates with the branches of the superficial veins, but also communicates with the orbit and the cavernous sinus of the cranial cavity.
The function of the valve is to prevent the backflow of blood. There is no valve in the facial vein cavity, so the facial vein does not have this function.
Inflammation of the face, especially infection in the triangle area, can easily cause bacteria to invade the skull. In severe infections, thrombus will form in the facial veins, which will affect the normal venous blood return, and it will flow back to the superior ocular vein and lead through the frame. The cavernous sinuses on both sides of the intracranial sella spread facial inflammation to the skull, causing serious complications such as cavernous sinus purulent and thrombophlebitis.
Once complications occur, symptoms such as eyelid edema, conjunctival congestion, protrusion of the eyeball, ptosis, and even visual disturbances can usually occur. The inflammation can also spread to the eyes and surrounding tissues, and the whole body may experience chills, fever, headaches, etc. In severe cases, sepsis may even occur, which is life-threatening.
(Source: Popular Science China)