How a popped pimple lead to a staph infection for one woman
One young woman's horror story about a pimple-turned-staph infection will make you think twice about picking at your skin.
21-year-old Katie Wright, from Texas, felt a pimple forming above her left eyebrow. Like most people, she hoped to get rid of the blemish before it became too noticeable, so she tried to pop it one day after getting out of the shower.
But instead, the pimple got worse, swelling up and leaving the woman in "unimaginable pain."
"My head just got hotter and hotter and started swelling up. It was unimaginable pain. I thought maybe I irritated my skin too much or pushed too hard," she told Today. She tried to alleviate the irritation with ibuprofen and ice, but instead, the blemish started oozing so much that Wright had difficulty opening her eye.
Photo: GoFundMe
After being rushed to the emergency room, and being diagnosed with cellulitis, Wright is sharing her story with others, warning them to exercise caution when dealing with their skin.
"I was unaware of how serious it was," she explained. According to WebMD, cellulitis can spread by entering the skin through injuries, scrapes, infections -- or in Wright's case, a pimple, anywhere there is an opening in the skin. It can spread to the eyes or brain, damaging the organs immensely. And if it's not treated, the bacterial infection -- caused by streptococcus or staphylococcus -- can spread even further. It can be deadly.
"When I got to the emergency room, the doctors said I was at risk of losing my sight or my life to this infection that was spreading rapidly," she said in her GoFundMe description.
The bacteria could have been passed from anything like skin picking to "using dirty make-up brushes," said a doctor to Today. Wright believes a dirty eyebrow brush must have "introduced the bacteria."
"Where I made my mistake ... I separate my brushes from my product to wash them. I threw my eyebrow pencil with my products instead taking the spoolie with it to clean," she explained.
Wright has since set up a GoFundMe to help with her medical bills.
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