How to Control Facial Blushing 101
Facial blushing is a natural emotional response and a common symptom of many conditions, including anxiety and menopause.
Since everyone experiences some degree of facial blushing, a lot of us have developed different techniques to cope with it.
Here’s our guide on how to control facial blushing!
Quick Guide to Stop Facial Blushing
4 Types of Facial Blushing
Identifying the way you blush is a good first step to determining how to control the facial blushing.
1.Typical facial blushing is an involuntary reddening of the face due to embarrassment or stress. The basic symptoms of excessive blushing can come from almost any situation (big or small) and include:
- Sweating
- Redness in the face
- A hot sensation in the face
This type of blushing is caused by a combination of sweating and the body’s ability to detect blood vessels.
2. Wet blushing – also known as “flushing” that’s associated with sweating – is due to an overactive sympathetic nervous system.
Your sympathetic nervous system is what regulates your glands and organs without consciously thinking about it. It also controls how much blood can flow through your facial blood vessels.
The reason wet blushing can occur is because some people’s bodies are more sensitive to emotional stress. It’s completely normal and treatable!
3. Dry blushing is blushing that’s caused by a higher amount of the chemicals in your bloodstream that cause your blood vessels to expand in diameter. This type of blushing should not cause extra sweating.
4. Severe facial blushing involves more intense sweating, redness, and heat in the face. It’s actually quite common in people who have social anxiety disorder. This could mean that if you constantly experience anxiety in social situations and performance situations, your body’s physical stress responses could react with severe blushing.
Why Do I Blush So Easily?
Blushing is part of your body’s natural fight-or-flight response to stressful situations.
But it can also be a symptom of other medical issues, such as Rosacea or a symptom of anxiety. In fact, women can experience blushing during menopause hot flushes.
No matter the reason why you’re concerned about how to control facial blushing, make sure that you see your doctor to make sure that it’s not an undiagnosed condition.
Is Facial Blushing The Same As Rosacea?
Nope! Facial blushing is a common symptom of rosacea but is not the same as rosacea.
Facial blushing occurs when capillaries dilate in the face due to emotional stress or embarrassment and is generally regarded as a healthy physiological response.
The same symptoms can also be caused by rosacea, but facial blushing is not the same as rosacea. Rosacea is a long-lasting disorder in which the skin becomes inflamed, and the principle symptom is a red, irritated face.
The best way to treat rosacea is to avoid triggers such as spicy foods, alcohol, hot drinks, and any other known triggers. This could clear up your skin in a few weeks.
You could also try creams that can soothe your skin, or even medical treatments if your rosacea is severe.
Is Facial Blushing The Same As Hyperhidrosis?
Nope! Even though someone with hyperhidrosis can experience facial blushing as a symptom, they are not the same condition.
Facial blushing is a normal physiological response while hyperhidrosis is a medical condition. Facial blushing occurs when you become anxious or embarrassed or when you experience an emotion for instance anger.
Hyperhidrosis is an excessive sweating that affects the underarms, hands, feet, and face.
People with hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) often have a difficult time controlling their day to day sweat, and this frustrating problem can lead to some major embarrassment and even social withdrawal.
One of the best ways to battle this problem is to use over-the-counter antiperspirants that contain aluminum chloride, which is commonly used in a variety of ointments and creams used to treat various skin conditions.
How Do You Stop Facial Blushing?
To quickly stop facial blusing, try using a cold ice pack to reduce the redness and heat on your face.
To prevent and reduce future blushing, start by identifying what’s causing your blushing. Oftentimes, lifestyle changes are the easiest way to control blushing.
For example, if you blush because you feel anxious, try to calm your nerves with breathing exercises and grounding exercises.
If you are blushing because of the weather or heat, change your environment.
If you are blushing because of a medical condition, try seeing a doctor who specializes in facial conditions.
When you see your doctor about your concerns, they might prescribe medication or other treatments. The type of treatment depends on the cause of your blushing.
For anxiety-related blushing that impacts your quality of life, your doctor could suggest cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or anti-anxiety medication to help with the blushing.
For other situations, your doctor might prescribe beta-blockers or clonidine. These types of medication typically help manage blood pressure, but they can also help reduce blushing by controlling the dilation of your facial blood vessels.
There are also surgery options such as botox injections. These may be effective by temporarily paralyzing the nerves in your skin so that your body doesn’t blush.
Until then, try this: When you feel the onset of a blush, try a combination of breathing slowly, covering your face with your hands, and focusing on the activity you’re doing to distract you.
What Next?
Blushing is a very common body response, but a lot of people struggle with various forms of it.
We all know what it’s like to blush and it’s embarrassing, but it’s also a very important body signal. We use it as an emotional response and to regulate our body temperature.
Since it’s a normal physical response, we suggest that you first try to figure out what’s causing your blushing.
Above all, if you’re concerned about how frequent and severe your facial blushing is, talk to a doctor for suggestions on how to move forward.
If you are experiencing these problems and want to further explore options to stop facial blushing, give us a call today at 212-342-1354 to learn more about facial blushing, facial blushing treatment options, and how our facial blushing treatment doctors can help you today!
