Hickeys Can Kill You: Follow These Tips To Help It Heal Quicker

'Have fun but not too much' just got a new meaning after a 17-year-old from Mexico reportedly died from a stroke, caused by a love bite planted on him by his girlfriend. In another case, a 44-year-old Australian woman suffered a minor stroke and got partially paralyzed due to a love bite. Her case was later published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

While hickeys are common, they lead to blood clots—something that could trigger a life-threatening stroke in extreme cases.

What Exactly Is A Love Bite?

A hickey is a dark red or dark purple mark on your skin caused by intense suction. While biting may be part of giving a hickey, sucking is sufficient to burst small superficial blood vessels under the skin to produce bruising. Interestingly, a person's neck is a common site for hickeys because of its easy access, however you can get them anywhere on your body.

Is It Lethal?

Not exactly. But in some extreme cases, there is a risk of damaging your carotid or vertebral artery due to extreme pressure. The carotid arteries, one on each side of the neck, are responsible for supplying blood to the head, including the brain. Vigorous manipulation of the neck, including the action of a hickey, can cause the inner wall of the carotid artery to rupture. (This process is medically termed as carotid artery dissection). Such a dissection is a nidus, a place where bacteria can multiply, for the formation of a blood clot. The blood clot can then get dislodged and enter the brain circulation, eventually causing a stroke.

While there is nothing wrong in giving or receiving love bites, it is imperative to note that one should not dig their teeth too deep into the other person's neck to avoid injury and damage to sensitive structures like the carotid artery or the jugular vein (a vein that carries deoxygenated blood from skull to body).

How To Cure A Hickey?

While there are practically no ways to cure a hickey, you can speed up the healing process. These processes can help you expedite the process:

1. Alternate Cold and Warm Compresses

Ice helps constrict blood vessels, reducing swelling. Apply a cold compress to the affected area for no more than 15 minutes per hour. Try a warm compress within the first 24 hours of developing a bruise. Heat helps expand blood vessels, allowing oxygen-rich blood and nutrients to travel to the area.

2. Avoid Worsening The Hickey

Give it adequate time to heal, and do not do anything that would worsen its appearance. Another makeout session may affect the neck area and break more blood vessels under the skin. Other things that might cause a bruise include falls and sports injuries.

3. Massage The Area

Use a self-massager, jade roller, or comb over the affected area. Research has shown that massage may help increase blood flow to the affected area.3 There's still a lack of research on how effective this method is.

4. Try A Banana Peel

One of the most inventive home remedies involves rubbing a banana peel on your skin for up to 30 minutes. The idea is that the nutrients in the banana peel, such as iron and zinc, help get rid of the bruise. Research has found that those nutrients aid in wound healing.

5. Use Topical Creams

You can try topical creams that contain arnica, bromelain, or vitamin K. Arnica is an herb, and bromelain is an enzyme (protein) in pineapples. Some evidence has suggested that those ingredients help reduce bruising. You can also eat fresh pineapple or drink pineapple juice, but more research is needed to know how bromelain affects hickeys.