Will this facial flushing be permanent?

November 28, 2013 5:27 PM

My cheeks were flushed and very hot when I woke up today thanks to an electric blanket.. Will the flushing probably be permanent? Pictures included.

It's the holidays and I've done something silly again - I slept with a super cozy electric blanket pulled up over my face and woke up with hot, red cheeks. Most of the flushing is on one side of my face.

I woke up at 9:30 AM after ~4 hours of sleep (I'd stayed up late baking pies); it's 7 something PM now and my cheeks are still quite reddish and warm to the touch.

left cheek this morning, usually
right cheek this morning, usually

posted by cp311 to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

Sounds a lot like a sunburn--in which case it will probably fade in a couple days, and you might want to put aloe on it.
posted by chaiminda at 5:38 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

I'd apply a tepid/cool compress to the flushed area and see if that makes any difference. The fact that your face is still warm sounds to me more like you've either been drinking alcohol (I get this problem but only with certain drinks red wine is a killer for this for me) or more likely you have a low grade fever. Have you checked your temperature?
posted by wwax at 5:48 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

IANAD. IANYN. You might have a minor burn (first aid here, but it doesn't look bad enough to me to need a dressing unless you're in pain), or you might just be flushed because you got so warm (or, as wwax points out, because you have a fever). No, it's not permanent, either way.
posted by gingerest at 6:13 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

I've done the same thing, except I have brown skin, so the redness was not as prominent. It lasted a couple of days.
posted by sm1tten at 7:17 PM on November 28, 2013

I've had sunburns that were warm to the touch for days afterward - unless you have other symptoms, that seems more likely than a fever.
posted by Flannery Culp at 8:17 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

Do you have Rosacea? Because this is the kind of thing that would make mine flare up and cause my face to feel hot and look red (I've got that right now from being outside in the cold today). If not, then I would expect it's probably a minor burn. Either way, it should be better tomorrow or the next day.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 10:32 PM on November 28, 2013

Response by poster: I haven't been drinking alcohol. I don't think I have rosacea.

My face is only especially warm where it is red - my forehead doesn't feel like I have a fever.

It's probably a superficial burn - I'll treat it gently (no glycolic acid lotion for now as per my usual nightly routine) and try some aloe.
posted by cp311 at 1:19 AM on November 29, 2013

Just to clarify, there are many things that can trigger facial flushing and irritation (mostly in the cheeks) in people that have Rosacea: heat, intense exercise, some cleansers and lotions, cold, spicy food, alcohol, etc. It's a very common condition among fair-skinned people that blush and sunburn easily and is more common in women than in men. My point was that if the flushing is due to Rosacea flaring up due to the heat, it should calm down in a day or two.

Hope you feel better soon.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 9:01 AM on November 29, 2013

Looks like a minor burn. Should heal just like a mild sunburn would.
posted by killdevil at 12:19 PM on November 29, 2013

It's probably a superficial burn - I'll treat it gently (no glycolic acid lotion for now as per my usual nightly routine)...

Glycolic acid is pretty potent stuff, and gets stronger under various conditions (such as a change in Ph).

Sweating raises the Ph of skin, and my guess is the hot electric blanket caused you to sweat a little, and that the consequent rise in Ph pushed the glycolic acid past the point of mere exfoliation into minor burn territory.

Be careful with that stuff.
posted by jamjam at 2:24 PM on November 30, 2013