Causes of Facial Flushing

Facial flushing is the reddening or blushing of the face and neck, which often comes on suddenly. Flushing can be caused by many different types of stimuli and conditions, but the basic cause is often a swell of blood being pumped into the face. For example, if you were to stand on your head for a few minutes, your face would likely become flushed due to blood pooling in your face. In the same way, events that speed up the heart rate and blood flow are likely to cause flushing.

Embarrassment

Embarrassment is one of the most common causes of blushing. When a person is embarrassed or uncomfortable, such as when talking in front of a large group of people, the heart rate increases, which can cause flushing. Being in front of a person that one has strong romantic feelings for is likely to increase embarrassment and blushing.

Anger

Anger is another emotion that frequently leads to facial flushing. In moments of anger, adrenaline is often released, which increases blood flow and can lead to flushing--in the same way extreme fright, or being in a life or death situation can cause flushing.

Temperature

Being subjected to extreme temperatures, and experiencing rapid changes in temperature can cause flushing. Simply being out in very hot temperatures can cause facial flushing, or having high internal temperatures as experienced during a fever can also cause flushing.

Food

Certain people react strongly to certain types of food, which can cause facial flushing. Flushing is especially common when eating spicy foods, though it can also occur when eating other types of strong tasting foods.

Alcohol

Certain people experience facial flushing as a reaction to consuming alcohol. The severity of the flushing can depend on the type of alcoholic beverages consumed and how quickly the alcohol is consumed.

Rosacea

Rosacea is a chronic medical condition characterized by facial redness and sometimes the formation of pimple-like pustules. The flushing experienced during an outbreak of rosacea can cause skin to be more deeply red and stay red much longer than normal flushing from other causes. Those afflicted with Rosacea often have a permanent reddish hue to their faces.