so I blush really bad...

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Hi. I am a new grad who just started working in a hospital. I have a problem maybe others can relate to or could give some advice on. I am fair skinned and have red hair and I BLUSH really badly. When my heart rate goes up at all, I get bright red. This is especially bad when I'm uncomfortable, such as when I'm talking to doctors or have to deal with a difficult patient or their family. I HATE this so much! I feel really stupid, and I think it probably also makes me look less professional and confident, which is not the image I want to portray. I've had people say to me "are you ok?? you're so red!", or "you're so red you're purple!". It's really embarrassing. Can anyone else relate? Anything anyone can recommend to maybe calm my face down a little bit?

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Specializes in Emergency.

I too have the same problem! I'm a pretty fair skinned guy... and at the slightest feeling of embarassment or anxiety I turn bright red almost purple... including my upper chest.. it makes me want to hide because I don't want patients to look at me and be like "what's wrong with him". also, everyone at work constantly says "are you ok why are you so red?!?" and it just makes me turn MORE red!!

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I don't have any advice for you but I have the same problem. I am not fair skinned but the slightest thing makes me blush. It is very embarrassing.

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I can't give you any advice from a personal point of view. But looking up 'Stop Blushing' on Google resulted in a few sites about psychotherapy treatments to help control blushing. They also recommended having a check up with your doctor to make sure there aren't any other medical reasons for your blushing.

Or maybe explain it away as feeling a little flushed...wouldn't really work if it was cold (but then you could say it was the cold). Sorry I couldn't help.

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Specializes in NICU.

I'm sorry, I also don't really have any advice but I can sympathize. I'm fair skinned and blush bright red at the drop of a hat, usually when there is any kind of attention focused on me and sometimes even when I'm not feeling embarrassed. It definitely doesn't help when someone asks "why are you so red?" (OT - has anyone ever said something along the lines of "thank you for drawing attention to it...now it will get worse"?)

As far as looking less professional or confident, I think the best thing to do is focus on making your speech and conduct professional and confident. I think you'll become more comfortable with time and will find yourself blushing a lot less...I know it's very embarrassing in the meantime though!

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Tell em you're going thru the" change".

(I am going thru the change and I get flushed quite often).

For a female it sounds like a plausible enough reason.

Just laugh it off and say, "Oh another one of those hot flashes! Gee, it's hot as blazes in here!"

And I think if you could learn to relax it might eventually get better.

Another thing to think about is that whomever you're talking to....that you might get easily embarrassed in front of.....remember that they pull their pants on every morning just like you do.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

Miss Dandelion:

Maybe you could apply your face makeup in really thick layers to hide that embarrassing blushing.

Let me know if that works for you.

Dave

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I have the same problem, and honestly don't know what to do it. I get red when I'm anxious, uncomfortable, change in room temp all of a sudden, exercise, and etc. Sometimes its a series of patchwork, not just my face and neck. It's so embarassing!

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I completely agree with all of the above. I realized I blush when I am embarrassed for myself or someone else, when I am laughing or am trying not to, when I am really mad or upset, when I am surprised, when I find someone very attractive, or when I feel uncomfortable with something. So basically- any stronger emotion. It also happens when I get hot, when I am exercising, and if I am really, really nervous I get red patches on my neck. I can feel it when my face heats up of course, but many folks that don't know me will ask if I am okay or give me a weird look. I kind of chuckle at it now, but it really bothered me when I was younger. I guess it is one of those things that I had to learn to be okay with. Now when I am talking to someone in a professional setting, I just talk right through it and it seems to settle down faster if I ignore my blushes completely. :)

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I am an ex-sufferer of this embarrassing nonsense as well.

Check out this link: Blushing explained | Better Health Channel

Personally, I had great success with 0.5mg of Xanax in the morning. Eventually after going through psychotherapy and discovering the root of my problem (which actually was a very interesting and almost dormant case of social anxiety), I was put on 20mg of Lexapro. I take it once a day, and am still "blush free" (unless it's a truthfully embarrassing moment).

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I used to take 0.5mg of Xanax too and it didn't work for me lol. Thanks for the tip! I hope we all be blush-free as well :)

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Wow. It's good to know I'm not the only one. I turn beat red often when speaking to someone of higher authority, and the conversation could be going fine but I still turn red. I'm hoping that with more experience, comes less blushing.

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