Hickeys can be seen anywhere on the skin. They are red marks that are caused when suction is applied to the area, especially during kissing. While some people think it is cute and very harmless, others are a bit worried about how bad hickeys could get. Can they cause blood clots? In this article, we answer your questions about hickeys.
How Does a Hickey Form?
A hickey is typically considered a closed wound. This means even though the integrity of the skin remains intact. There is some damage to underlying tissue or blood vessel.
When your partner sucks or kisses too hard at your skin, especially the skin around the neck, there is damage to the underlying blood vessels.
Usually, these vessels are small capillaries that do not have the strength to resist the force of suction. And so, they burst open.
Blood leaks from them and forms the shape of your partner’s lips. (Most low-grade closed ones take the shape of the damaging trauma)
Do Hickeys Hurt?
Generally, hickeys are not supposed to hurt. But this depends on a lot of factors, including how hard your partner sucked at your skin.
If it was a very deep suck, that is, if the suction was quite a lot, there would be damage to more vessels and, in some cases, even the substance of the skin.
This often shows up as tingling. This tingling can often be shoved aside, as it is no cause for concern.
It only becomes a problem when a hockey keeps hurting for days and even weeks.
Related: How To Give Hickeys and What a Hickey Looks Like
Do Hickeys Scar?
Since the substance of the skin is not broken, it is unlikely that hickeys will scar. In fact, I have not quite seen a hickey scar before.
Hickeys, however, have an increased likelihood of scaring or becoming open wounds if you further damage the area.
You can do so by having your partner continue to suck at the hickey! Don’t do this.
You can also damage the area by scratching. In some people with sensitive skin, some hickeys might itch. Don’t give in to the desire to scratch. Just let it be, and it will heal on its own.
Will a Hickey Heal on its Own?
Again, this depends on the size of the wound as well as how deep into the skin it went.
Wide and deep hickeys take longer to heal because there is more needed material to affect the healing.
Ones that are not deep, however, do not take that much. This means a hickey can generally take between 3 days to 2 weeks to heal and become invisible. (Read: 10 Ways to Turn a Guy On and Get Him Hard)
How to Hide my Hickey
Some people consider hickeys embarrassing and would want to hide them. If you are one, there are generally two ways to hide your hickey.
1. Wear a Turtle Neck Shirt
Wearing clothes that reach up to your neck, if the hickey is on your neck, is a great way to hide the hickey.
Just be sure the cloth is not rough so that it does not scratch the area to break the skin further.
2. Apply Some Make Up
If you are great at this, make-up will hide just about any hickey. Get some material that fits your skin color and put it on. After some minutes of applying, and boom, the hickey is gone. (Read: 10 Kissing Styles and What They Say About Him)
Can Hickeys Become Infected?
Unlikely. Very unlikely that they can be. But as I have said repeatedly, it depends on a lot of factors.
People who itch their hickeys may expose their skin, and an infection can begin if their nails are dirty.
It is, however, very unlikely. So unlikely that most hickeys just clear out on their own without the need for any drugs.
Is There Anything to Do to Clear Out a Hickey Faster? (How to Stop it From Clotting)
While I would advise that you do not apply anything to the hickey, there are a few options to have your hickey disappear faster. One of those is Vitamin K.
Vitamin K is an essential component of the clotting pathway. Without it, blood will not clot, and the skin will not heal.
It can help the skin along your hickeys heal and cause the hickey to disappear.
Can a Hickey Cause a Blood Clot?
Even though this is very unlikely, the answer is yes. It sure can cause a blood clot.
A blood clot is formed when clotting factors in the blood are activated. These factors are activated when there is a break, some form of damage, on the walls of blood vessels. The walls of capillaries are lined by small cells and are known as the endothelium.
Damage to the endothelium can signal the body to begin the process of clot formation.
This is, however, as I mentioned before, extremely rare. It seldom happens. But when it does, there might be some cause for concern.
The odds are so slim that I do not think it is anything for you to worry about. But if it happens, go to your doctor immediately, and he is in the best position to help you. (Read: What Does It Mean When He Kisses You A Lot)
Can Hickeys Cause a Stroke?
A strike is a neurological deficit of vascular origin. This means that it is damage to the brain caused by the abnormal flow of blood through the capillaries.
Sometimes, a blood clot lodges in one of the arteries around a hickey.
This blood clot is then carried straight up to the brain, where it causes a stroke.
This is very unlikely. There are only a few reports.
Plus, it seems like putting pressure on the carotid artery can make it more likely that a person will develop a stroke from a hickey.
The chances of you developing a stroke from a hickey are so slim that you may as well take your mind off it. You do not want to be thinking all of that.
Should I get a Hickey?
Well, that depends on you. I will say yes, though. If you want to get a hickey, then you should go ahead.
Hickeys can be considered relatively safe.
