Facial redness or flushing

Overview

Flushing is temporary reddening of the face, neck, or chest from widened blood vessels. It's common with heat, exercise, emotions, alcohol, and spicy foods.

Rosacea is a long-term skin condition with redness on the central face, flushing, visible blood vessels, bumps, and sometimes eye irritation. Lupus can cause a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks. Rarely, frequent flushing with diarrhea or wheezing can come from hormone-producing tumors.

When to get medical care

Causes

Common causes include rosacea, heat, exercise, emotions, alcohol, spicy foods, hot drinks, menopause, and medicines like niacin, some blood pressure medicines, and steroids. Other causes include sunburn, eczema, lupus, allergic reactions, and, rarely, carcinoid syndrome or other hormone-producing tumors.

OwieClear has pages on 7 conditions that can cause facial redness or flushing. Each shows how soon to get care.

Common causes

• RosaceaOften treated at home

  Long-lasting redness and flushing on the cheeks and nose, sometimes with small bumps.

• Carcinoid or neuroendocrine tumorSee a doctor if it doesn't get better

  Slow-growing tumors that start in hormone-making cells, most often in the gut or lungs.

Less likely causes

• Medullary thyroid cancerSee a doctor if it doesn't get better

  A rare thyroid cancer that starts in the C cells, which make the hormone calcitonin.

• Myeloproliferative neoplasms (polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, myelofibrosis)See a doctor if it doesn't get better

  Slow-growing blood cancers in which the bone marrow makes too many red cells, platelets, or scar tissue.

• Polycythemia (too many red blood cells)See a doctor if it doesn't get better

  Having too many red blood cells, which thickens the blood and raises the risk of clots.

• Polycythemia veraSee a doctor if it doesn't get better

  A slow-growing blood cancer where the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells.

• Systemic mastocytosisSee a doctor if it doesn't get better

  A condition where too many mast cells build up in the skin, bone marrow, and other organs.

What you can do at home

• Notice your triggers and avoid them.
• Use gentle skin care and fragrance-free products.
• Wear sunscreen every day.
• Limit alcohol, spicy foods, and hot drinks.
• Keep cool in hot weather.

Medicines

Rosacea may be treated with creams (metronidazole, azelaic acid, ivermectin), redness-reducing gels, antibiotic pills, or laser treatment. Other causes are treated based on what's found.

At the doctor

The provider will look for rosacea or another cause.

Questions you may be asked

• When redness happens and triggers
• Bumps, visible vessels, or eye symptoms
• Medicines
• Other symptoms like diarrhea, wheezing, or joint pain

The exam

A skin exam.

Tests

• Usually no tests
• Blood or urine tests if a medical cause is possible

Prevention

You can reduce flares.

• Avoid triggers
• Use sunscreen
• Use gentle skin care

Check your symptoms

Most symptoms have more than one possible cause. The symptom checker looks at all of your symptoms together, plus your age, and shows how soon to get care.

Start the symptom checker

Related symptoms

• A bruise
• Animal or dog bite
• Bad sunburn with blisters, fever, or chills
• Bed bug bites (bites in a line or row)
• Bleeding gums, easy bruising, slow healing, or corkscrew hairs with a poor diet, or low vitamin C
• Blisters
• Bruising easily or bleeding for a long time
• Bug bite or sting
• Bumps around hairs or after shaving
• Bumpy red rash around the mouth or nose
• Burn on the skin
• Butterfly-shaped rash on the face
• Cold sore or blister on the lip
• Contact with a bat, raccoon, skunk, fox, or an animal acting strangely
• Cut or puncture wound