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My Face Is Red

Are you prone to blushing?

I was listening to a  public radio show in my car (so I only got a part of it) about blushing and its social consequences.  I am a blusher so my ears perked up.

There is a surgery for that!  It was initially intended to inhibit excessive sweating of hands and head, but it was discovered that it decreased blushing as well.

I did some reading up about this when I got home.  Surgery, not surprisingly, is not the preferred method of treatment.  Cognitive behavioral therapy is the first line--to treat underlying maladaptive social misperceptions--such as people will pick on me if I blush.  This idea needs to be replaced with something along the lines of:

"I may come across as a person who is shy, but other people will usually be happy to accept this and often will make extra effort to engage with me".

HA!HA!HA! I laugh at that!  Obviously a therapy model developed by someone who does not blush ever! You blush, someone is going to point it out--like you cannot feel your face turning into a red hot poker.  And then you blush more.

So, interesting to hear that there is a type of surgery called endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS). Lasers are used to disable the nerves that allow blood flow to the face.  Your head will sweat less, your hands will sweat less, and you will blush no more.

No blushing and less sweaty palms sounds good until you hear about the other side effects.
Some of the main risks of the ETS procedure include:
excessive (compensatory) sweating – as the cut nerves also control sweating in some areas of the body, the procedure can cause other areas of your body to sweat more
Horner’s syndrome – where nerve damage causes the upper eyelid on one side of the body to droop
pneumothorax – where air gets into the chest cavity and needs to be drained by inserting a temporary tube.
So I guess I will just go on being a blusher and putting up with the comments.



Comments

  1. TomJune 2, 2015 at 9:26 AM

    B is a blusher ... it's one of the things I love about her!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meryl BaerJune 2, 2015 at 9:37 AM

    So often side effects can be worse than the problem the meds are supposed to cure. Don't look for more trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 2, 2015 at 10:29 AM

    I stopped drinking alcohol because it made my skin red.

    ReplyDelete
  4. TaborJune 2, 2015 at 10:49 AM

    I usually feel embarrassed for the blusher because I know they are feeling bad. Doesn't help, but that is my reaction.

    ReplyDelete
  5. GwenJune 2, 2015 at 11:48 AM

    I don't think I blush that much, so I cannot conceive of it being so bad one would consider surgery....I feel bad for anyone that suffers so much. :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. MuffieJune 2, 2015 at 12:09 PM

    I, too, am a blusher, and it takes very little for my face to turn bright red. It was horrible as a teacher. When parents would get angry, or try to tell me off, I always felt my face start to flame. I hated it, but I won't have surgery for it. Some things you just have to live with!

    ReplyDelete
  7. SextantJune 2, 2015 at 5:47 PM

    Sounds like the cure is worse than the ill. Amazing how the hip bone is connected to the thigh bone and you start messing around with one thing, it affects something else. What is so bad about blushing anyhow?

    ReplyDelete
  8. BarbaraJune 2, 2015 at 9:39 PM

    I used to blush a lot more in my younger years than I do now. I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm not as shocked or embarrassed anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  9. SakuJune 2, 2015 at 10:29 PM

    I can't say I'm a blusher, but the hot flashes have a tendency to make my face shiny.I think I'd avoid the surgery and the therapy too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Linda ReederJune 2, 2015 at 11:39 PM

    How do you tell blushing from a hot flash? I think my face turns red for many reasons. I'll live with it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Arkansas PattiJune 3, 2015 at 8:51 AM

    I am not a blusher but think it is cool on someone else. Pneumothorax would be enough to make the worst blushers back off.

    ReplyDelete
  12. oklhdanJune 3, 2015 at 10:48 AM

    I always thought there was something charming about people who blush. I sure wouldn't have surgery to stop it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. KayJune 3, 2015 at 12:08 PM

    I always think it's so sweet when I see somebody blush too. I'm afraid I'm too tanned for you to see if I'm blushing. Art has the Asian flush, or was that the Asian blush when he drinks any alcohol.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jenn JilksJune 4, 2015 at 4:23 PM

    Nope. Not me!

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownJune 6, 2015 at 6:28 PM

    The side effects with so many of these procedures and medicines is scary!!! NO!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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