Have you ever wondered if popping your pimple is good or bad for you? In many years of my life, I’ve always thought that pimples have to be popped to get rid of the pus and wormy stuff out, including the blood that’s intoxicated with dirt and bacteria. Leave the blood there and the pimple will grow again at the same spot.
Well, only recently I realised that’s just a myth.
Michelle Rodrigues, Consultant Dermatologist of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne mentioned in The Conversation that “popping pimples can actually make your skin worse”.
Here’s why you shouldn’t pop your pimples:
So now that you know why, or maybe you do know this a long time ago. Besides the grossness of popping pimples what exactly are the negative consequences you may wish to avoid at all cost?
Consequences of Popping Pimples
1. Permanent Scars
Samantha Olson of Medical Daily said: “If irritated and popped, the pimple may leave permanent scars behind on the skin long after they naturally clear away, which could require cosmetic laser surgery to get rid of.” You may be wondering how bad can the scar get. You may also be thinking that by time it will go away. Maybe, but not true for everyone. It depends on your skin type and how your body reacts to bacteria and trauma. After knowing this fact, whenever I have the urge to meddle with a pimple, I do whatever I can to distract myself from causing permanent self-destruction to my skin.
2. Makes Pimple Worse
Research shows that although you might look better after popping your pimple or acne. That’s only a temporary measure on the surface. For some people, the affected area is made worse by more severe inflammatory lesions a few days later. In another research, popping the acne lesions may contribute to Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation, which causes skin darkening and discoloration that show up as spots, or as large patches on a person’s body and that healing will take 3 to 24 months depending on individual skin type. It’s so true that most of the time I want to remove that big swollen, puffy gross looking bulge from my face. Why? Because it always gets more attention than it needs to. It’s just very embarrassing. Sometimes, I tend to try and pop it too early which causes more pain and makes the spot more obvious. If that’s not helping, just being patient to let it go away in a couple of days works better.
3. Further Infection
As I was researching more about pimples, I realised a pimple is a skin infection. It’s just so common that I’ve always treat it as if it’s something normal. And by disturbing it further by popping it, we will cause more harm and exacerbate the infection further.
Here’s what an infected pimple looks like:
Image by Alvimann @morguefile
Conclusion
I’m sure you’ve popped many pimples in your life without the above happening. That’s what I’ve experienced too and most times I take such luck for granted.
With the above knowledge in mind, I’ve since taken the smarter and right ways to get rid of pimples.
Sources:
- The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 2009 – jpma.org.pk http://www.jpma.org.pk/PdfDownload/1684.pdf
- Indian Journal of Dermatology Venereology and Leprology – Postinflammatory hyperpigmentation in acne