'Man v. Food' Star Adam Richman Says He Nearly Died After Getting an Infection in His Mustache
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Man v. Food host Adam Richman recalled being hospitalized after contracting an infection in a mustache follicle.
On Wednesday's episode of the Celebrity Catch Up: Life After That Thing I Did, the television personality, 47, revealed the medical scare which occurred while he was visiting Zurich, Switzerland for a Michelin event in 2018.
"One of my mustache follicles just looked like a pimple…and it was just not healing well," he told host Genevieve Hassan.
Richman then sought medical attention for the ailment but the situation quickly grew more serious.
"I'd gone to a doctor and then eventually my lip inflated like a banana — it was grotesque," he said. "I remember I went to tear a piece of medical tape and I couldn't get to my teeth."
The Straight Up Tasty author was diagnosed with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which "is caused by a type of staph bacteria that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections," according to Mayo Clinic.
"At the moment, it never felt like 'you're going to die' - it was never something that they posited, but it was always sort of understood," Richman says of the experience in the hospital. "I think they didn't want to freak me out."
He added, "Now imagine you're over 5,000 miles from home. Thank god, I was blessed with the financial ability to fly my mom over but I was quarantined."
Richman said the infection was located in a high-risk area on his face and he needed surgery to get rid of the infection. He was also treated with "serious courses of antibiotics."
"I found out from maxillofacial surgeons that the area from the inside of your eyes to the outer corner of your lips, they call it the 'danger triangle' because there's multiple opportunities for a surface infection to go intracranial," he said.
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Richman added that it remains unknown how he contracted the infection.
"The doctor said it could have been anything from a water glass to a hotel towel, shaking someone's hand and then invariably [touching my face]," he said. "There's any number of ways."
The experience left Richman grateful for his life. "'Gratitude is the attitude because fate, God, disease, the higher power of your choice can take it away just like that. Every day above ground is a gift," he said.
Richman hosted Man v. Food for four seasons from 2008-2012.
