Doctor leaves people horrified after warning there's a 'triangle of death' on your face

Popping pesky pimples is far too satisfying, so satisfying in fact that there are whole TikTok accounts dedicated to watching the pros do it.

But did you know that squeezing your spots can actually have deadly consequences? No? Me neither.

According to Dr Mehmet Oz, there's an area of the face that, when meddled with, can cause some pretty serious damage.

The celebrity doctor, who is renowned for giving medical advice on Oprah, warns against playing with the skin in a triangle space in the middle of your face known as the 'triangle of death.'

The area begins with your nose as the top and a point on either side of your lips, he explains.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

Speaking to CNBC's Squawk Box back in 2014, Dr Oz said: "You pick in that area, that triangle of death, you have a risk of that infection transcending the skin and going up to your brain."

But it's not just the surface of the 'triangle of death' that's dangerous.

He continued: "You pull that hair out [from inside your nose]... there's a little blood that leaks out from the follicle that got disrupted."

This is because damaging the skin and causing blood to leak could lead to cavernous sinus thrombosi, meningitis or a brain abscess, which are all awful diseases. Yikes!

If this is to occur, usually it will start out with a blood clot in the sinus, which can impact on your nerves that are situated around the cavernous sinus, causing a muscle or gland to lose its function.

Though it’s rare, if it was to be left unnoticed, it would put the individual at risk of death.

Dr Pimple Popper, otherwise known as Dr Sandra Lee, also says that popping a spot within the triangle area is no laughing matter.

Wikimedia Commons/Pfctdayelise/SpooSpa

In 2016, she told Allure: "If you ever get an infected pimple here, it has a shorter distance to get to the cavernous sinus.

"If the inflammation from a zit spread, there's the potential for blindness or stroke."

As it’s so rare, there really isn’t much information circulating about it to back up these claims, which has led to the medical community to distance themselves from Dr Oz.

The American Council on Science and Health do not support his advice due to a lack of proof.

The organisation once wrote: "We, like others in the scientific community, have been constant critics of the non-evidence backed 'advice' that Dr. Oz has dished out through the years.

"The bottom line, to no one's surprise, is that the recommendations made by Dr. Oz were not evidence-based and often had no legitimate scientific literature citation to confirm his claims, frequently overlooking potential harm and high costs."

But, while there's no strict evidence backing up the 'triangle of death's existence,' I think I'll give squeezing the massive spot on the side of my nose a miss this time.

Topics: Health, Weird

Bec Oakes