A doctor urged his followers to stop giving hickeys to their partners in the area housing the carotid artery because it good lead to horrendous health circumstances.
Hickeys have a number of names including love bites, kiss bites, bug bites, and love marks. Though somewhat controversial among older generations, they have been adopted by younger generations as one of the more aggressive ways to demonstrate your love.
Why you shouldn’t give hickeys on the carotid artery
The UK’s Dr Elias Farhad (@dreliasfarhad) took to TikTok on Monday with a cautionary tale for sexually active people who might be giving hickeys to their significant other.
“When I tell patients if you’re in the business of showing affection through HICKEYS learn where the CAROTID ARTERY is or you may end up learning what happens when someone has a STROKE,” he wrote.
Hickeys are caused by intense suction on the skin, usually around the neck area. The pressure causes blood vessels under the skin to break, relating tiny spots called petechiae.
Shockingly, hickeys near the carotid artery have been shown to affect a number of people negatively. There have been numerous reports of people suffering strokes after receiving hickeys, including a 35-year-old woman in Denmark who had a stroke just 12 hours after receiving a hickey.
“The carotid artery, which is one of the arteries that goes to the brain travels through the neck. so, if you were to press on or otherwise damage the neck in that area where the carotid artery is going, potentially they could cause enough injury to tear the blood vessel, and cause a blood clot to form that could go to the brain and cause a stroke,” specialist Dr. Elkind earlier told CBS News.
People have a complicated relationship with hickeys
After Doctor Farhad shared the important message, many of his followers shared their own experiences with hickeys in the comments. Though some admitted to still enjoying the practice as an adult, a solid amount of people confessed to swearing off the aggressive kisses years ago.
One person wrote: “My mum [told] me cuz I came downstairs with a self-made hickey (I make hickeys on my body sometimes, it’s weird I know).”
“The way our teacher taught this in health ed and we were all gagged (mostly bc of how she said it),” another person said, as a third joked, “If I die getting a hickey then I’m dying happy.”
