A man has left social media users disgusted after revealing how a hickey turned into a staph infection.
Cam Pelicon noticed unusual bruising on his neck while training at the gym but didn’t think much of it until four days later, the 19-year-old realised it had formed into a spot.
At first, he thought it could be a bug bite but little did he know how things would develop.
Taking to TikTok to share his story, where it has seen over five million views, (@pelicamm ), Cam explains the horrifying ordeal that followed.
“I wasn’t too worried, I just thought it could’ve been a bug bite,” Cam, a gymnast from Australia, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“After a week passed, it started to begin to look like ringworm and my neck began to feel really stiff.
“Then, I noticed it looked like a spot but it was more painful than usual and little movements such as turning my head too fast would cause so much pain.
“I didn’t think too much into it until it started progressively getting worse.”
Cam visited the doctor and was told he had a staph infection, which can be caused by hickeys.
That’s when he realised what had likely happened, as he had received one not long before that.
He added: “It was because of a hickey!“I wasn’t scared, it was the first time I had heard of a staph infection and I was just glad that it wasn’t herpes.
“I reached out to the person that gave me it and showed them the pictures and explained what they had given me. [sic]
“They were shocked and had no idea.”
It took about a month for Cam to fully recover and the symptoms affected his confidence.
He said: “It took about four weeks to heal, however there was a lot of pinkness and swelling on my neck afterwards.
“My confidence was definitely affected at the time, I did not leave the house for weeks.
“But then again, this infection made me extremely sick to the point where I physically couldn’t even swallow my food from the pain and I was constantly tired.
“It took me at least 20 days to finally go into public but it was during summer so I would be wearing hoodies to mask the infection.
“It doesn’t affect my confidence anymore, as I’m healthy now.”
He is warning others to be careful when it comes to hickeys – though he still gets them himself.
Cam added: “Only give and receive hickeys from someone that you know and trust, such as a partner.
“I should be put off hickeys for life, but as soon as I started dating someone again, I would get them again.
“But it never went back to what that one was like.”
The video, which he shared on social media, includes pictures of the staph infection from beginning to end.
In the first couple of images, a small bruise with a spot can be seen forming, which then evolves into a large circle on the side of his neck.
In one picture, it looks dry, then by the last image, the infection can be seen filled with puss and bright red.
The post has over 716,000 likes, as well as thousands of comments from shocked users.
Vanee said: “Doesn’t even look like a hickey at the beginning.”
Daniela commented: “OH MY GOD.”
Gina added: “HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN.”
“THATS A THING,” wrote someone else. [sic]
“NAH BRUH,” commented another follower. [sic]
“New fear unlocked,” added Chloe.
“No one is ever giving me a hickey again,” said Laura.
