ETS or Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy is an invasive surgical procedure that can be performed on people who have excessive blushing problems, and also hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating.)  Many people who experience uncontrollable blushing hear about this type of surgery and feel that their problem is solved. Their doctor might recommend it, depending on the level of distress the blushing problem causes.

While for some people with the most extreme blushing problems, ETS might be considered, careful consideration is prudent before moving forward with this surgery due to the side effects it can cause. Keep in mind also that there isn’t any way for doctors to know in advance how your body will react.

One common side effect of ETS is Compensatory Sweating (CS), which means perspiring in the back and lower stomach areas. This happens with many patients, although many people say it improves the further away from surgery they are.  In some cases the patient feels the new sweating problem is worse than the blushing problem it was supposed to fix.

Facial blushing patients who received ETS surgery reported a 90% success rate.  Some have reported bothersome sweating, usually in the forehead, when they ingested spicy foods.

In extreme cases, Horner’s Syndrome can result, which causes eyelid drooping and constricted pupils, has resulted.  Also reported in rare cases have been bleeding or air leaks from the lungs.

Your doctor can perform the operation by cutting the sympathetic nerve, or by clamping it with titanium clips.  If you opt for surgery, the clamping method would be wise, as it can be reversed if you suffer problem side effects.

More detailed information and opinion on ETS surgery can be found at the following links:

ETS and Reversals Forum

Hyperhidrosis and ETS

Wikipedia ETS page

Have you considered ETS to cure your blushing problem? Have you had ETS surgery? Share your experience by leaving a comment below.

Blushing is a physiological response to the sufferer’s stressing over social situations, as when they are suddenly cast into the spotlight or introduced to someone new. It happens because they feel it will, and they exaggerate the problem to such an extreme that it’s all they can think about.

Fearing other’s judgment; they totally blow the blushing episode up to be this big, scary problem that really isn’t. A little redness in the face and a few stammered words are not catastrophic, but that person thinks they are. Those same people exaggerate the way their blushing affects others.

One “treatment” available for social anxiety and blushing is cognitive therapy. This type of therapy attempts to directly address all the triggers that a blusher might have for their problem. Sufferer’s anxiety is what feeds the blushing pattern, so cognitive therapy seeks to teach different ideas and feelings about that anxiety.

Therapy will also teach special exercises that aim to help reduce blushing, and patients will want to practice these often as the new, more rational information is becoming embedded in their mind. A combination of methods lead you to change how you think, feel, and most of all, perceive, blushing. These changes will help them to control over their blushing.

This type of therapy can take a considerable amount of time and patience, not to mention quite a bit of money laid out to the therapist the patient works with. Cognitive therapy, like any other treatment, does not work for everyone, and is just one option available to those who suffer from a severe blushing problem.

There are many exercises that a blusher can work on without a therapist; Blushing Breakthrough contains many exercises to help blushers work on recognising their own personal triggers and reducing anxiety.

When exposed to stressful events, or even when embarrassed, the body’s natural fight or flight system kicks into gear and releases boosts of adrenaline into the bloodstream.  This extra adrenaline helps to widen blood vessels all over your body by relaxing the muscle tone in blood vessel walls, which in turn causes excessive blood flowing into the blood vessels just below the skin.  This is what causes our face, neck, chest, and ears to turn red and blush.  Most people blush when they’ve done something that is embarrassing, like tripping over their own feet or spilling a drink on someone else.  However, some people also blush without any sort of triggering event.

People with social anxiety are afraid that people will see their blushing negatively, as a sign that they are dishonest or weak.  However, it is possible that others will see someone who is blushing as shy or nervous, sensitive, or even ill.  The fear of blushing actually increases the possibility of the physical response, since the fear activates the fight or flight response and therefore the sympathetic nervous system.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Those with bothersome social anxiety would do well to seek assistance.  Therapists trained in cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT can help the sufferer to understand their beliefs and how those around them view their blushing or sweating- it is possible that others might think that the blushing is cute and not a sign of weakness.

CBT often involves having the sufferer confront their fears, and the situations that cause them to fear blushing and sweating.  Lowering the person’s apprehension about the fearful situations will also cause a decrease in the physical responses.