Love-bite

A love-bite on the neck.

Love-bites (or hickeys) are a temporary mark or bruise on one's skin resulting from kissing or sucking (not necessarily biting) forcefully enough to burst blood vessels beneath the skin. They could also be called "love-marks","passion marks", "slag tags" or "tramp stamps", since actual biting is usually not involved, but this usage is not widespread. Love-bites usually occur during acts of intimacy and take anywhere from one to five days to fade entirely, depending on the severity of the 'bite'. Various ways have been suggested for making the love-bite fade faster. This may be desirable in cases where one doesn't want other people to know that he or she has been intimate with another person. Some suggest applying ice immediately after the mark is made to stop it from worsening. It is also suggested, once the bleeding has stopped, to stimulate circulation through numerous means, such as rubbing the area or exposing it to luke-warm water. These methods need to be applied several times in order to have a visible effect. Other methods for curing hickeys include awkward procedures such as the application of peanut butter, mayonaise, oil, or ketchup to the affected area. For some these methods may completely remove the bites in a short time, though one should apply such methods gently so as to not cause further irritation to the area.

Many violinists are said to have hickeys, due to the irritation caused by the chin rest while playing for prolonged times.

Normally love-bites are associated with the neck, however it is entirely possible to develop (or inflict) a love-bite on almost any part of the skin. The nipple and the surrounding areola are not as sensitive to love-bites due to a darker pigmentation. As long as love-bites only lightly bruise — rather than break the skin — they are harmless from a medical point of view.

They can sometimes be 'lip' shaped. People who do not bruise easily can find them quite painful due to the amount of pressure applied to get the desired result.

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