Learn more about the difference between blushing and rosacea flushing, including how to treat rosacea and anxiety-related facial redness.
Blushing is pretty much a universal experience. We’ve all momentarily gone flush when called on in school or caught off guard by a crush.
While this type of blushing is harmless and won’t affect someone’s life -- there are certain types of blushing that can.
If you’re looking for medication to stop blushing then it’s clear you’re dealing with blushing that is affecting your life.
Let’s get into some must-know details about blushing or flushing, and how to make it stop.
There are a few types of blushing, but generally speaking, when our cheeks or chest go red it’s because of one thing -- blood vessel dilation.
What triggers this dilation determines what type of blushing you’re experiencing.
When blood vessels open up it allows for a heavier flow of blood which causes the skin to appear redder.
Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that causes flushing due to chronically dilated blood vessels.
This type of blushing can be caused by a whole bunch of triggers. These include hot beverages, alcohol, spicy foods, chemicals in products, and even sun exposure.
This type of blushing is not related to emotional factors but is related to a skin condition. Rosacea flushing may be persistent rather than situational.
The other common type of blushing is closely related to anxiety. This is the type of flushing that may occur in social situations.
When you’re anxious, embarrassed, or flooded with emotion, the “fight or flight” response sends a stress message to the nervous system that can cause blood vessel dilation -- and thus, redness.
You can easily tell if your blushing is anxiety or rosacea-related.
Anxiety blushing happens in social situations and quickly resolves once you regain your “emotional footing”.
Rosacea, on the other hand, can cause persistent, and at times severe, blushing.
And, while stress and anxiety can also trigger rosacea flushing, you will often notice other rosacea triggers as well. This condition can also cause irritation of the skin, bumpy skin texture, and visible blood vessels.
To figure out what is causing your blushing, take note of what’s going on before you start blushing. This goes for anxiety blushing or rosacea flushing. These can be thought of as your “blush triggers”.
If you felt yourself go red in a work meeting after being reminded a report was due -- take note of that.
If you saw your face get redder after your morning coffee -- take note.
After a while, you’ll begin to see a pattern. This is what will help you figure out how to treat and reduce blushing.
Learn More: How To Use a Rosacea Diary To Identify Your Rosacea Triggers in 5 Steps
If your blushing is stress-related, take notice of common themes in your blushing diary.
More than likely you’ll see a common thread throughout each blushing situation. Many of those who have uncontrollable blushing seek cognitive-based therapy to help offer tools for controlling emotional or stress reactions.
This offers tools to better deal with your blushing triggers.
If your blushing seems to be affected by the sun, your diet, or your favorite glass of wine -- these might be rosacea triggers. Seek patterns in your flushing so you can pinpoint and remove the blushing triggers.
Removing triggers can greatly reduce rosacea flushing.
There are a few medications you might try to help reduce rosacea flushing.
Topical treatments for persistent rosacea flushing:
Here at Strut Health, we offer the most affordable compound rosacea flushing formula that can be tailored to your specific needs. We offer formulations that can contain a combination of azelaic acid, ivermectin, oxymetazoline, and metronidazole, depending on your specific needs.
“I tried the Rosacea type 1 cream after trying many other things with my dermatologist, and I couldn’t afford any of the things she gave me. This formula is amazing. I’ve been wanting to try a vasoconstriction cream but they’re never covered by insurance and cost hundreds per month. This cream has me shook!! 2 hours after I applied my face was back to its porcelain beautifulness! I could cry I’m so happy!”
- S.B, June 2021 Strut Health patient review of custom rosacea formula
For those with stress, anxiety, or phobia-related blushing, there are a few things you can do.
Talk to your doctor to see if medication for anxiety-related blushing is a good idea for you.
For a lot of us, blushing is a rare occurrence that resolves quickly and doesn’t affect our daily lives. But for those with anxiety-related blushing or chronic rosacea flushing -- blushing can be a big deal.
For either type of blushing, take a look at what is triggering your blushing and take steps to remove or reduce that trigger.
Thankfully, there are medications available to stop or reduce blushing. For those with rosacea, it’s best to treat blushing, redness, and irritated skin sooner rather than later as rosacea can worsen over time.
Anxiety blushing can cause people to avoid certain situations causing anxiety to persist in other areas of your life. It’s best to find the trigger of your stress-blushing and work with a professional to reduce your stress response.
Skip the dermatologist’s office and get treated online with Strut Health. We create custom rosacea medications, tailored to your rosacea subtype.
Complete a simple questionnaire-based online doctor's consultation to see if our treatments are right for you.
If our doctors find this is a good fit for you, we’ll ship your custom prescription to your doorstep.
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