Woman almost died from squeezing pimples

A female patient suffered from a severe infection that could have been life-threatening if she had arrived at the hospital one day later. Notably, the patient contracted the infection because of a habit that many people have - popping pimples.

Illustration photo.

MSc. Dr. Nguyen Minh Hao Hon, Department of Rhinosinusology, ENT Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City said that it was a 32-year-old female patient (living in Binh Duong). The patient was admitted to the ENT Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City when she had an infection that caused inflammation in her face, swelling and unable to open her eyes. The patient said that 4 days before being admitted to the hospital, she used her hand to squeeze a pimple in the vestibule of her nose. After that, the area around her nose became inflamed and quickly spread to her eyes and both eyes with severe pain.

At the ENT Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, the patient underwent endoscopy, CT scan, and blood tests. The examination and test results showed that the patient had a vestibular infection causing facial inflammation, and was ordered to monitor for sepsis and cavernous sinusitis. The patient received a blood culture and used multiple antibiotics combined with active intravenous infusion. Fortunately, the patient responded well to the treatment regimen, improved, and was discharged after 10 days. According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Minh Hao Hon, if the patient had arrived one day late or had not received active initial treatment, the situation would have been unpredictable.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Phan Chung Thuy, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, cavernous sinusitis is an infection of the head and face (especially the nose and upper lip), which spreads easily into the skull through the valveless venous system. Dr. Chung Thuy compared this condition to a house without a door. Previously, this type of infection often had a 100% mortality rate. Today, thanks to antibiotics, this rate has decreased to about 30%, but the consequences are very large, patients can go blind or have central nervous system poisoning...

Through this case, Dr. Nguyen Minh Hao Hon advises everyone not to squeeze pimples themselves or ask others to do it without sterilizing their hands, and to immediately stop the habit of using unsterilized acne squeezing tools.

According to Dantri