Facial flushing: Super effective method to prevent it

Published: 01/14/2013 - Updated: 11/23/2016

Do you get red easily? Do you ever blush when you talk; people look at you, or for no apparent reason? Believe it or not, many people suffer from what is known as pathological blushing or flushing, which is not a disease as many believe, but a problem that can be solved in simple and natural ways.

Do you really want to "cure" this problem? Take a few minutes to know what happens in your body and you can avoid this problem by following these simple but effective advices, remember that any problem in life becomes a blessing if it helps us to grow and know each other better.

Why do we get red for anything?

Flushing happens to everyone when they feel shame or much anger, or certain weather conditions, etc., It comes naturally when blood flow is faster and smoother. However, when this occurs very easily and without warning or encouragement, then it is a problem for the person as this could affect social life, mind or esteem, especially when it is accompanied by other symptoms such as excessive sweating, tingling in the hands, warmth in the face, etc.

Nervous system and facial flushing: the root of the cure

The flushing occurs when the skin of the face, and sometimes the neck and chest, becomes red and filled with a warm feelingThe flush happens because our face contains many tiny blood vessels or capillaries which are surrounded by muscles in their walls which can cause the vessel to contract or dilate. Generally, these tiny capillaries are contract on our face but when a slightly stronger contraction occurs, the amount of blood flowing must increase its pressure or blood velocity which would cause flow through the blood and the face turns red.

The walls of our cups capillaries are controlled by our autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is a network of nerves that produce automatic reactions, i.e. we do not control it consciously, so these tiny capillaries contract because of the room temperature, spicy things, certain diseases, stress, temperature changes and emotions. Some people blush more easily than others and this is due to the sensitivity of our autonomic nervous system.

Emergency emotions and facial flushing

Stress, nerves, fear or anger are emotions that trigger our emergency defense. With these emotions, the blood circulates faster because the body goes on alert, the body does not recognize if you are nervous because you have a lion in front or a debt or something that embarrasses you, the body only understands that there is a danger or something you have to fight, and then lights a defensive system where the whole body goes on alert, eyes and all senses should be more alert and quick reactions, so the body, among other things, take more nutrients and oxygen so it can be more responsive, reactive and able to fight the supposed danger.

When a body is well fed or oxygenated this occurs much sooner and emergency action turns more easily, so as when the person recognizes, whether consciously or unconsciously, an experience like something "dangerous", the motors and the body start to the possible emergency action: active adrenaline in the body, increase gastric juices to speed up digestion of food to provide our muscles extra amounts of nutrients and oxygen, making more blood circulating in the body and causing the face to fill with blood (flushing), sweaty hands (to remove excessive heat in the body), fast heart rate, respiration increases in frequency, etc.

How to cure pathological facial blushing

If we undertake a profound observation and learn to identify situations that cause us fear, anxiety, worry, etc., and we see the attitude that they generate, then we can permanently dissolve the pathological blushing.

When we blush abnormally is that the body somehow detected a danger or threat, either consciously or unconsciously. For example, we can be very open and secure in society, but there may be an unconscious factor that triggers a fear or threat when, for example, people see or hear us. This fear may come from the fear of embarrassment, fear of not being accepted or show any weakness, the fear that someone discovers any trait of our personality that we consider "bad", etc. For many people, being accepted can be very important, especially when we rely heavily on what others say or we are very concerned about the self-image or feel there is something wrong with us.

Exercise to cure pathological facial blushing

See yourself just when you get red and don’t try to avoid, hide or control it, as this will only worsen the problem and will make your face gets redder. When someone makes you feel or notice that you have turned red, don’t see it as something wrong or as a problem, tell yourself that you are at peace and happy being who you are and accept you as you are. When you are alone, practice observing where you feel unsafe or where you do not agree or feel that there is something wrong with you.

If you feel that when you talk or want attention your face flushes, breathe deeply and slowly, and concentrate on the beating of your heart. If people laugh or make comments, take it as something natural and move on, tell yourself there is no problem. If you are persistent and patient, this problem will dissolve slowly.

About the author
  • K. Laura Garcés G

    Writer, therapist and lecturer. She is a lover of natural medicine and the power of mind and emotions in body and life. In addition, he has studied nutrition and develops appropriate diets to support this healing process.She has written more than 1500 articles in magazines in Spain and Mexico, winner of two literature contests. Linkedin.

3 Replies to “Facial flushing: Super effective method to prevent it”
  • Maya says:

    When I was younger I had this problem and it can very embarrassing especially when you are in adolescence and kids can laugh at you for something so small. And then your confidence gets worst and the flushing appears more often, if you have this problem you should talk with someone about your problems and try to understand that everyone has problems, you just need to deal with them 🙂

  • Nicole says:

    I have experienced blushing from an early age and setting my mind at ease definitely helps control the flushing. Finding out it is part of a whole chain of alert that our autonomic nervous system triggers is so impressive, even the intake of nutrients and oxygen increases!

  • Stacy McQueary says:

    I have a friend who suffers from very much this same condition. It makes my heart go out to her, because she feels like she’s awkward and uncomfortable, when in reality she hasn’t said or done anything that should even merit those feelings. Understanding the causes and treatments mentioned in this articles are pretty profound…and for people who blush a lot, this could really change their lives.