When you think about cracking your knuckles, you probably just think that it’s a pretty gross and unsettling habit that some people have, not that it might potentially kill you.

Images VIA

The potential is in fact there though as an unlucky 31 year old from Lexington, Kentucky found out after he contracted a flesh eating bug from the habit and almost ended up dead. Antoine Boylston explains what happened to him, alongside some pretty graphic photographs:

I was at work when I cracked my knuckles and aggravated a scab on my finger.

I thought that I had broken my little finger because the pain was so severe.

By the time I arrived at hospital that night, my right hand had started to darken and swell.

I went for a skin biopsy and just a few hours later was told I had a life threatening skin eating bug.

I thought a flesh-eating bug was something people got in the movies – not from cracking their knuckles too much. I’d do it a lot, and not think anything of it – but I was going to live to regret it.

The whole time I thought I just had a broken finger that was causing me to feel sick to my stomach.

It wasn’t until I woke from surgery, and was told I had necrotising fasciitis, that I understood the severity of it all.

The infection had spread through my hand from the cut, almost to my elbow. ‘Doctors warned I may lose my hand – but if I had waited much longer I could’ve lost the entire arm or died.

I had only heard of flesh-eating viruses from movies.

I didn’t think that was a thing people could actually get, let alone that what I thought was a broken finger from cracking my knuckles too much was actually a disease, spreading up my arm.

I spent a week in intensive care, underwent a second round of surgery and had the blood supply to my fingers cut off to stop infection spreading.

It was like dipping your hand into a bucket of ice. It was so cold that it burned.

Doctors weren’t sure if I’d regain blood flow, but it’d returned to most of them after a day or two.

However, it was pretty clear that I would lose my pinkie [little] finger. It looked like something from a zombie movie, hanging from my hand and was kind of starting to smell weird.

It was amputated and that was probably the worst pain I’ve ever felt. It made me completely forget the pain in my hand and arm.’

It turns out your grip strength actually comes from your pinkie and ring finger.

It seems like nothing, but the pinkie is actually one of the worst fingers you could lose.’

I try to never use my hand as an excuse for poor performance, but it does bother me sometimes.

Typing, swinging a hammer, and holding small items is a pain. I can’t form a fist. Pocket change is now my worst enemy. I forget and try to hold it in my right hand and it slides out every time.

But, I’m alive – and I will never crack my knuckles again – I can’t.

Damn. I don’t thinkI can actually crack my knuckles but I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna do it again after listening to that and seeing those pictures. I mean I’m sure Antoine got pretty lucky there as well but man, I am not willing to take the risk there at all – are you?

For more flesh eating diseases, check out this flesh eating disease targeting UK dogs. Watch out.