The Danger Triangle

[James160]

I have a spot/pimple under my skin, it seems to be on the upper bridge of my nose inbetween my eyebrows, and i read something silly today that if a spot around that area is popped it can cause a brain infection.

I say that it seems silly, but i cant help but think that it's real, and due to the location of this spot being in a place where it might pop due to me simply making a facial expression, it has set my health anxiety right off.

Now It can't even have a pimple without worrying about dying, can anyone shed some further light on this? :wacko:

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well I've said it before, to me the danger triangle is something found on the body of a woman I fancy who's got a 250IB cage fighting husband. :winks:

We had a thread just like this a few weeks back. It's surely an urban myth courtesy of the Internet. Teenagers would dying in droves otherwise!

[James160]

I never really thought about it like that to be honest, that's a /really/ good point.

Prior to this post, I did a little more research and apparently, it's real but extremely rare and often only happens in the elderly.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Have you been spiked by the media? I just Googled it out of interest to find several news articles written in the last 24-48hrs by a few outlets (The Independent, The Express, MEN, etc).

[gatsby12]

Oh god, ive been so scared of this. I just had a panic attack about it.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I never really thought about it like that to be honest, that's a /really/ good point.

Prior to this post, I did a little more research and apparently, it's real but extremely rare and often only happens in the elderly.

Are you sure it's not that the elderly are more at risk due to changes in how their veins are operating? I haven't read more than one of the news articles and the Wiki page but since this is all about infection of an open wound, not popping pimples as these articles are scaremongering about, it makes sense that those with problems with veins (often the elderly) are more at risk simply because they are more at risk of just about anything.

Some of the older members on here will most likely tell you how once you get past certain age milestones your risk factors for all sorts of things increase. Since this issue you are worrying about is treated with aggressive antibiotics (like many things) and blood thinners, and is classed as a medical emergency, there must be a way to detect it since it's about infection plus the potential of a blood clot breaking away in the facial vein, amongst other things.

But think about it rationally. This is about facial injury within "the danger triangle". So, how many cuts & scuffs in that area does your average boxer have over a 5 year period? A lot. So, if this is such an issue, why aren't they all dying from this or at least why aren't we hearing that it is affecting them. I've never ever heard over this until the last few weeks and only just decided to check it out for this thread.

How many people who have car accidents have an injury in that area? Come to think of it, did you ever fall off your bike as a kid? Ever broke your nose?

And here's another one for you to rationalise with. My dad had a sore on the side of his nose for 2 years which he continually picked at. He only went to see his GP after some time of it changing colour & growing more (after some forcing by my mum, neither of them worry about their health) and it turned out he had actually got a slow growing, common form of skin cancer. This was because he worked in the sun for over 40 years up to 7 days a week according to the consultant and it was an easily treated minor form. That was over 5 years ago and nothing has come of it since they removed it. He picked at it constantly and it resembled an open sore a lot.

Guess how old he was? Late sixties. So, that puts him up in the risk area, doesn't it?

Reading about this one has made me think of things like SADS, SFI, etc. It's all incredibly rare stuff.

I've been a skin picker since childhood, a good 23+ years before my anxiety actually started. I used to pick that area a lot.

Reading that article on The Independent's site reminded me of exactly what I would read in The Daily Mail. It's a typical non story by someone with nothing better to do. No facts, no science, no medical people quoted.

Try to rationalise this for the extremely rare issue it is. Millions of people injure that area all the time yet no ones ever heard of this issue.

[spacebunnyx]

OMG... I would be dead a million times over since I hit puberty if this were true!!

[MyNameIsTerry]

OMG... I would be dead a million times over since I hit puberty if this were true!!

Me too.

AND if another one were true, I would have long gone blind too through those years...:whistles::winks::D

[axolotl]

The Independent, once a fine newspaper, is now primarily a rubbish clickbait site. Sad to see - I'd be more worried about the decline of British journalism than bursting your zits ;)

[MyNameIsTerry]

The Independent, once a fine newspaper, is now primarily a rubbish clickbait site. Sad to see - I'd be more worried about the decline of British journalism than bursting your zits ;)

Journalism has certainly taken a massive plummet into the bargain basement bin since all these bloggers have started writing articles for them. It seems anyone can get into it these days and it shows.

[axolotl]

Journalism has certainly taken a massive plummet into the bargain basement bin since all these bloggers have started writing articles for them. It seems anyone can get into it these days and it shows.

I'm not sure I'd blame the writers as such as the news outlets' motives for publishing stories, which are more than ever based purely on how many Facebook clicks they can get. I know some people in the industry, and they're frustrated by the crap they're expected to write.

[James160]

Thanks for all the replies, I read them today whilst travelling to work and they somewhat put my mind at ease, I can't shake the feeling that the spot under my skin is somehow related to the pressure in my head, dizziness and headaches i'm getting, but then again i did have these symptoms even before the spot developed.

I found out what the medical term for the danger triangle is, it's something called Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis.

[axolotl]

The fact people on a health anxiety forum haven't heard of something must tell you it's pretty obscure! And you answered your own question, a spot can't cause headaches if you had the headaches before the spot.

I get really bad headaches and head pressure from time to time, it's just one of those things. If it persists see a doctor, but not because it's likely to be anything to worry about, but to check if you need any antibiotics, or if there's any tips to avoid likely triggers.

[James160]

Yeah, It's strange because I was at the gym earlier and i kind of forgot about it, it's only when i came home that i could feel the pressure in my nose rise (Which of course when that happens, my overactive mind kicks in.)

Then again it could be explained by the drop in temperature in the night, what i'm feeling could easily be summed down to an allergy, a bout of sinusitis or simply a change in the season (It is getting colder).

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks for all the replies, I read them today whilst travelling to work and they somewhat put my mind at ease, I can't shake the feeling that the spot under my skin is somehow related to the pressure in my head, dizziness and headaches i'm getting, but then again i did have these symptoms even before the spot developed.

I found out what the medical term for the danger triangle is, it's something called Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis.

Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis is the infection of the Cavernous Sinus. The danger triangle is made up of a load of different parts of the face that all have their own specific names.

This makes me wonder where you are getting this information from. Could it be flawed? If you have read the danger triangle is called this, that's definitely wrong. And where does it mention about the elderly being more at risk? I only did a quick search but didn't see that mentioned and I would expect it would be as it's very relevant?

Don't take that the wrong way, James, I'm just wondering whether holes can be poked in the information as it's a good way to rationalise.

Sadly anxiety doesn't just go when we work out the truth, if only it did, it takes time to dissuade the subconscious of something that doesn't matter once it has built up a fear context. Keep your negative reactions down, if you can literally give a "meh" you will see it fade as the subconscious will realise it's not important. Or work on it positively such as through rationalisation. You will work your way through it, you've already worked out it's impossible to even be linked since you had the symptoms before the spot.

Focus plays a big part in anxiety. If you can shift your focus, it will really help, like how you did at the gym. I've found after such a prolonged distraction to my focus, the fears come back with less intensity and I have more control over them escalating. It's just the classic anxiety process of noticing a sensation associated with worry, often because we have built beliefs that they are a worry and the subconscious is just running it's agreed programming.