A love bite, also known as a hickey, is a red mark on the skin, typically on the neck, caused by someone sucking or biting forcefully enough to burst small blood vessels under the skin.
More specifically:
- Cause: Intense sucking or biting pressure damages capillaries beneath the skin's surface.
- Appearance: It manifests as a bruise, often red or purplish in color.
- Location: Common areas include the neck, but can occur on other parts of the body.
- Duration: Love bites typically last for several days to a couple of weeks, gradually fading as the body reabsorbs the leaked blood.
While generally harmless, a love bite is essentially a bruise. There's a very slight risk of more serious complications if the carotid artery is damaged, although this is exceptionally rare.
