Causes of my red cheeks - when it's not Rosacea / Killaratosis Pillaris?

[J1992]

[18 Year Old Male]

5ft 10, 172lbs, 8% BF - Just to let you know im not overweight, very active, bodybuild and do not have any other obvious healthproblems.

Hi,

To keep the story short I currently have quite frequent episodes of redness in the cheeks only - this has been occuring since about November 2008 ( I started sixth form in September) and has kind of gotten worse in the sense the redness in the cheeks was at first very vague but has now gotten more prominent. The redness in the cheeks coincided with my first spot(s) which where whiteheads e.t.c commonly associated with puberty i.e 16-18 years old.

Basically the redness is only in my cheeks, not anywhere else on my body and can vary to the extent of how much of the cheek it takes up. There are no bumps on my face or anywhere else and there are also no visible blood vessels or dots of sporadic redness, its more or less a complete area only vaguely fading near the mouth area and near the side burns.

I originally believed this was to do with my regular spicy chicken I used to have at every night-time meal , however I have since stopped that habbit a good year ago as well as completely eradicating salt and dairy from my diet plus more water - to no avail. I then thought it may have something to do with the harsh soap I was using as a cleanser however since changing that I havent really noticed much difference - However... in the summer of this year (2010) I honestly cant remember a flare up or occassion I noticed any redness, I guess my tan covered it up perhaps? I only seem to take note of my redness when I feel flushes or hot which occured alot areound December to March of 2009/2010/2011 - similarily when in a hot room/ class room I used to get very hot (High body temperature?) and would notice my face getting pinker/redder.

I originally though I had Rosacea as it was one of the first results from searching redness/flushing in google however pictures such as this one:
flickrDOTcom/photos/djelpern/15445932/

Seem more common to my experince except my redness is not as bad / dosent extend to the eye brows side of head and dosent have visible capilaries or spots. Further more I workout 2x a day which has increased in intensity and duration from 2008 onwards - although I still worked-out prior to 2008 as well, I also used to tan alot however from 2008 my tanning decreased due to college and overall less personal time.

I would really appreciate some feedback from all you experinced members.

P.s When im cold my redness completely subsides - perhaps I have an allergy, other disease/ eczema? I have not had a formal medical diagnosis as of yet, however I have been to the doctors whereby the asked me to do a uring test which I eventually did not return as my redness kind of subsided at that time (April 2010).

I eat lots of tuna, porridge, rice milk, chicken, eggs and fruit, in addition to omega 3, zinc, multivitamic and water.

ALSO in alot of recent pictures it seems my mouth area - chin to lower cheeks is alot lighter/ whiter than my cheeks / forehead so it strikes a large, noticable contrast in my skin tone. I also do not sweat on my face / have not done since my redness began, leading me to think that my redness is a sign of my face unable to cool itself down.

Here are a few pictures doctor:

img513.imageshack.us/i/2008z.jpg/ ---------- (No Redness) 2008, September
img412.imageshack.us/f/2008veryflushed.jpg/ ---------- (First Redness) 2008, November
img255.imageshack.us/f/2008flushed.jpg/ ---------- (More Redness) 2008, Decemeber
img163.imageshack.us/f/2009v.jpg/ ---------- (Redness) 2009, Summer
img813.imageshack.us/f/2011he.jpg/ ---------- (Redness) 2011, Winter


Thanks in advanced,

J.

[muffn43]

Has anyone thought it may be due to allergies.  Seasonal allergies for me causes my cheeks to become red. I hate it!!

[Prettyredgirl]

I've had the exact same problem since I was 17. I am now 33. Im hispanic female with fair skin. 5'3 and 145lbs. The redness began on my cheeks and slowly spread down my neck and chest. I dont always get red on the cheeks. I also get red on my legs and atms. What i have learned is that it is due to my anxiety. I seem to get red on my chest when I'm nervous, anxious, in the sun, heat, feeling hot, angry, scratch or embarrassed. I have read that antihistamines and beta blockers have helped a few people. I have not tried either one. I have noticed alcohol, caffeine and sugar make it worse and have noticed it less when eating absolutely very light. Spicy foods can make your body hot, which can affect the redness on the skin.

[WEhave6]

YES!! Exactly!! I've been eating Gluten Free for about 2 years and this started when I changed my diet... but the white bumpy stuff on my arms cleared up!! WHAT the heck!? Also, since the diet change, my gut still gets very bloated (where I look pregnant) then my face flares up again. I get low grade fevers and feel very flu like plus when my cheeks are not "glowing bright red" they're very dry and flaky. I believe it's an ingredient used commonly in GF foods but I'm not sure how to go about narrowing it down. :(

[FilipSi]

Hi everyone,

Im 23 years old and have the same skin condition a lot of u describe. I get red cheeks with quite a sharp contrast to my naturally fair skin tone. I do get less and more the redness sometimes none, also the cheeks usually get red asymmetrically. Also when I'm sick i don't get it.

The area it shows in is very similar to j1992s area, does not cross over to sideburns, at the top its like 2cm under the eye and it stops at about 3cm from mouth and nose. The redness doesn't cross below my jawbone. It never shows anywhere else.

I've have the condition since at least puberty, don't think I had it before that. I do get comments about it although rarely and it would be nice to find a cure or treatment for it.

I'm not sure what triggers it (duh...) but usually like many of you mentioned, at cold and hot temperatures. When the redness occur my cheeks are hot but they are not hotter then the rest of my face. I don't get any kind of effects beside them being red. Like j1992 mentioned, i too when i stretch the skin in the red area regain normal skin tone momentarily, it goes straight back to red when unstretched.

The the things that bothers me the most is the asymmetry of the redness, the contrast to my fair/pale skin and of course the redness itself.

Like one of you mentioned, i too have kind of irritated skin on both of my arms in the triceps area. What i mean is the hair growth is kinda strange and i do have a lot of red/brown/black hair follicles, never anything major. Not sure of the connection but thought it was worth mentioning.

Also i have no known allergies except a minor one for dogs and cats. I do not eat a lot of veggies and fruit although i do eat some.

Regards,
Filip

[Girlwiththeredface]

It's relieving to hear about all the stories that are similar to mine, even though I know how uncomfortable and painful it can get! This has been going on for two weeks straight, my cheeks are constantly flushed and it feels like they are on fire. I went to the doctor and she doesn't have any suggestions. I hve fair skin, always had issues with redness but never a flare up like this. I've eliminated coffee and alcohol so far, but to no avail. It's hard having to go into work full time when you want to rip your face off. Just weird that it happened out of the blue, without adding anything new to my daily routine.

[91Mouse]

I too am concerned about my excessively rosey cheeks.  In the past two months I've had a number of lady friends politely suggest to me that I maybe be wearing just a touch too much rouge - except I'm not.
At first I thought it was a bit of wind burn, my cheeks actually hurt and I do spend a lot of time outdoors, but I became concerned after a few days spent indoors with no improvement.  My cheeks are just as red on rising as they are at bedtime.  
It is not menopause, as I did that over fifteen years ago and never did have the hot flashes my friends all suffered.  
It is not over heating on exercise, because the redness is there in the morning and does not seem to change after my power walk.
I do experience red burning cheeks with alcohol consumption, particularly red wine, however they are red and sore now and I have not had anything alcoholic in three days.  For this reason I thought there might be a liver problem or pernicious anemia but I don't have any other symptoms.  In fact the only symptom I have is night sweats which I have had for many years.  The redness in my face appeared only in January.  
I actually welcome the ruddy look on my cheeks since I have always been extremely pale, needed to stay out of the sun to avoid burn, but I really want to know what the cause is - if it is something I should be worried about.

[allyeve]

I've dealt with chronic red cheeks since I was a kid while I still have no clue what causes it a trick I've learned to temporarily fix it is getting redness relief eye drops and lightly massaging the drops on my cheeks with in 5 minutes the red is gone. It usually lasts all day and from my experience it's best used underneath your moisturizer you want your cheeks to "fill up" on the drops. Being a look conscience girl it's definitely helped save me embarrassment! Let me know if anyone tries this I'm curious~