Red hot face and ears can be embarrassing. The good news is that this is a harmless condition that is caused by hormonal changes, intense feelings of emotion or environmental conditions. However, there are cases where the redness is accompanied by blisters, pain or bleeding. When this happens, you should seek medical attention.
What Causes Hot Face and Ears?
Why does my face get hot? Find out below.
1. Hot or Cold Weather
Exposure to excessive heat or cold can result in red hot face and ears. If you are exposed to the sun for too long, there is a chance that you will get sunburns. In addition, you could also experience peeling, blistering and pain. Exposure to extreme cold can result in frostbite of the ears. Initially, your ears will feel numb and appear pale. When they start to defrost, they’ll be red, painful and hot. You can use a wide brimmed hat or sunblock to protect your ears from the sun’s rays. For the cold, you can wear earmuffs or a scarf for protection.
2. Strong Emotions
Contrary to what most people believe, blushing is not restricted to the face. You can experience hot face and ears whereby the ears and face become red and hot. Blushing is an involuntary reaction to high emotions such as embarrassment and anger. This is caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the face and neck, which allows blood to rush to the head. This, in turn, causes the skin to feel warm and turn red. Generally, people with fair skin and younger people are most susceptible to hot face and ears caused by blushing.
3. Hormonal Changes
The onset of menopause brings with it a lot of hormonal changes which can cause hot face and ears. However, this is not a preserve of those going through menopause. You can actually experience hot face as a result of other conditions and medications that affect the hormones such as chemotherapy.
4. Social Issues
Social phobia or shyness can lead to hot face and ears. It often happens when one gets criticized by others. Whether the criticism is real or perceived, the victim reacts in the same way.
5. Stress Response
When you are stressed, the body goes through many psychological, physiological and emotional changes in a bid to enhance your ability to respond to danger. These changes trigger the flight or flee response and are caused by stress hormones. Stress hormones can affect the body’s nerve system, causing it to behave abnormally. An over-stimulated nervous system can affect the nerve endings causing hot face and ears. While this can be alarming, it is not dangerous and should clear on its own. It is just a sign that you are stressed.
6. Bigger Blood flow
Bigger blood flow around the body can cause hot face. This occurs when the part of the brain that controls body temperature (the vasomotor system) dilates your veins, arteries and vessels to give the blood a bigger surface area in order to cool it down.
7. Other Causes of Hot Face and Ears
- The skin condition known as rosacea can also cause hot face and ears. Other symptoms include broken veins and redness.
- The condition can also be a sign of carcinoid syndrome. Hormone releasing tumors in the appendix, bronchial tubes, colon or small intestine cause this syndrome.
How to Deal With Hot Face and Ears
You need not get alarmed when you get hot face and ear as it is very common. It should resolve on its own with time. However, if symptoms persist you need to seek medical attention. Below are some tips on how to deal with this condition:
- Wear layers of clothing that you can remove when you get hot flushes to obtain relief.
- Drink plenty of water. You can also put some bottled water in the freezer and use it to cool your face when it gets too hot.
- Steer clear of spicy foods, caffeinated drinks and alcohol as they can trigger hot face and ears.
- The black cohosh herb is said to help with hormonal hot flushes as it mimics estrogen.
- Sepia tablets are a homeopathic remedy that can help with the condition.
- If the hot flushes are caused by a reaction to organisms on the skin, then you can take antibiotics.
If shyness or social phobia is the problem, watch the video below and learn a breath methods to quick calm yourself: