Blush

What is blushing?

Flushing is a sudden redness of the face, neck, and occasionally the upper chest. Blushing is the result of neurological redness. It occurs more often after a high level of anxiety, for example, it can occur in a person during a presentation, meeting or social situation in which they are eager to be judged, criticized and evaluated by other people. However, blushing also occurs without stress or anxiety. Some people are born to blush excessively without any apparent emotional stimulation. The blush can cause severe embarrassment and frustration for anyone who experiences it regularly, and can often lead to social phobia or other anxiety disorders. Erythrophobia is the name given to the compulsive been related to fear of blushing.

What causes blush?

As part of the “fight or flight” response when we are exposed to environmental or emotional stimuli, the body responds through sympathetic nervous system. This causes the widening of small blood vessels (capillaries) just below the surface of the skin, therefore blushing occurs.

What treatment is available?

For most people, it takes a minute or two for the facial flush to clear, causing slight embarrassment. However, in some people severe and frequent blushing can become a real obstacle and affect personal and professional life. There are several treatments available for intense facial flushing.

Psychological treatments

Cognitive behavioral therapy - This is a form of psychotherapy that helps you weaken the connections between problem situations and how you react to them, e.g. flushing (behavior therapy), and teaches you to realize how certain thought patterns make you blush (cognitive therapy). For more information on cognitive behavioral therapy, visit www.cognitivetherapy.com.

Pharmacological treatments

There are several medications available to help treat facial flushing. Consult your doctor to find out the suitability of medical treatments.

• Anxiety medications - used to help calm the person and reduce the frequency and / or severity of blushing
• Clonidine — Used to treat uncontrollable facial redness by reducing the widening of blood vessels that causes redness
• Beta-blockers: Control anxiety symptoms such as flushing and heart palpitations.

Surgical treatments

Often blushing occurs alongside hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) is a surgical treatment considered an effective way to treat severe facial redness and hyperhidrosis. The operation is performed under general anesthesia and involves holding parts of the sympathetic hyperactive nerves that causes these symptoms. Due to the risks associated with surgery under general anesthesia, this procedure should only be performed if other more conventional therapies have failed. Side effects include hyperhidrosis (increased sweating).