DANGER AREA OF FACE..

Danger area of face????

Yes!!! There is a certain area in the face that is known as the danger area.

Danger area consists of the area from the angle of mouth to the bridge of nose including the nose and maxilla. It is possible of retrograde infection from nasal area to spread to the brain causing cavernous sinus thrombosis, meningitis or brain abscess due to the communication between facial vein, pterygoid plexus and the cavernous sinus. Venous valves are present in the ophthalmic and facial vein, however, absent in some. The direction of the blood flow and the existing communication between the veins to the cavernous sinus plays an important role in the infection.

Cavernous sinus is the major venous sinus of the brain that is bordered by the temporal bone and sphenoid bone of the skull. If the sinus is infected, it causes the blood, within sinus, to clot which causes cavernous sinus thrombosis which affects the structure passing through it. In cavernous sinus, nuclei of cranial nerve III (occulomotor) , IV (trochlear), VI(Abduces) and V (trigeminal) especially ophthalmic branch and maxillary branch are found and if infected for a long period manifest in the loss of function of the specific muscle and glands.

Pterygoid plexus is a venous plexus of the lateral side of the brain. It communicates freely with anterior facial vein and also communicates with the cavernous sinus through its branches.

The infection of the brain through dangerous area of face can occur in person of any age. The sign and symptoms depend upon the type of bacteria causing it and type of infection. However, some common sign and symptoms are high grade fever, severe headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, discomfort while looking in bright light, confusion and sleepiness. Seizures, convulsion can also be seen. Abscess formation, inability to move the eye, vision loss or double vision is common.

Pooping of the acne, prolong sinusitis, folliculitis, rhinitis, etc. can lead to the brain infection. The infection can be cured by the use of various antibiotics such as amoxicillin, metronidazole, penicillin, vancomycin, 3rd generation cephalosporin, corticosteroids, etc. and blood thinners such as Eliquis, Apixaban, Pradaxa, Dabigatran, Xarelto, Rivaroxaban, etc.

As there is saying “prevention is better than cure” it is better to adapt the preventive measures instead of suffering.