During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in his assesment of the symptom: Flushing. These may include a physical examination or other medical tests. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor may help them with their diagnosis.
Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
Why: to determine if acute or chronic.
Why: e.g. embarrassment , shyness, anger, stress, anxiety, guilt, strong emotion, exercise, sex, alcohol, spicy food, sunburn.
Why: e.g. polycythaemia may be caused by lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease, liver cancer, adrenal cancer, cerebellar tumors and dehydration.
Why: e.g. niacin is a vitamin that may be used to lower cholesterol. If used in large amounts or taken in overdose may cause severe flushing, itchiness, diarrhea, abdominal pain and may aggravate asthma; other medications that may cause flushing include calcium channel blockers, certain anti-diabetic medications and diabenase.
Why: e.g. MSG additive in food may cause facial flushing and other adverse effects in people sensitive to it.; spicy foods may cause flushing and exacerbate rosacea; recent ingestion of fish such as tuna, mackerel and skipjack may indicate possible scrombotoxic fish poisoning which can cause flushing.
Why: e.g. heavy cigarette smoking may cause polycythaemia.
Why: alcohol may cause facial flushing; alcohol intolerance may cause flushing only after a single drink; alcohol may exacerbate rosacea.
Why: e.g. Yellow fever which is confined to Africa and South America and spread by mosquitoes may present with a flushed face.
Why: e.g. carbon monoxide poisoning may cause flushing; scrombotoxic fish poisoning which can cause flushing.
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. These may include:
Why: e.g. acne-like facial rash, episodic reddening of the face (flushing) with increases in skin temperature in response to heat either from hot liquids, spicy foods, alcohol or sun. may be complicated by red eyes or enlarged nose.
Why: e.g. spontaneous or induced bluish-red flushing, usually of the face or neck, abdominal pain, recurrent watery diarrhea - This syndrome occurs in only 5% of patients with carcinoid tumors and only when there is liver metastases.
Why: e.g. palpitations, hot flushes, night sweats, fatigue, dry skin, dry vagina, emotional changes.
Why: e.g. emotional lability, agitation, nervousness, tremor, palpitations, loose bowel motions, intolerance to heat, facial flushing, sweating of the hands, muscle weakness, weight loss despite normal or increased appetite.
Why: e.g. tiredness, dizziness, ringing in the ears, , facial redness, redness of the eyes, severe itching of the skin after a hot bath. May be complicated by angina chest pain, intermittent claudication and gout.
Why: e.g. paroxysmal episodes of anxiety, tremor, headache, flushing, pallor, sweating and heart palpitations.
Why: e.g. 2-3 hours after ingestion may experience flushing, burning, itchiness, headache, hives, nausea, vomiting and difficulty with breathing.
Why: e.g. high fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joints aches and pains, flushed face, red eyes, abdominal discomfort, vomiting; followed several days later by yellowing of the skin, bruising and bleeding from the gums.
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