# Flushed **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2000, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984 "2000-02-10T02:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiki)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/1 "2000-02-10T02:41:00Z")
The apples of my cheeks get rosy pink after sex and I’m just wondering what causes it. I know all of the “activity” gets you hot and sweaty but the pink in my cheeks stays for quite awhile. Is it just plain afterglow? * * * That John Denver’s full of shit man! ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/2 "2000-02-10T02:58:00Z")
Blushing can be stimulated by any emotional arousal. When you blush after sex your partner can feel confident that you weren’t faking it. > [@](#): > > Physiologically, blushing results from an increase in superficial facial blood volume: blood vessels in the skin dilate, and red blood cells color the skin red. The area of skin that can blush is usually restricted to the face, ears, and neck, but in some rare cases, the upper body blushes. This dilation of the blood vessels is involuntary, and it is not absolutely clear what mechanisms are responsible for it. Pharmacological blocking experiments, however, have demonstrated that blushing involves the beta-adrenoceptors. The beta-adrenoceptors in the skin of the face are activated when the autonomic nervous system signals emotional arousal. Thus, stress can increase the activity in the autonomic nervous system. [http://www.health-line.com/articles/hl970504.htm](http://www.health-line.com/articles/hl970504.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/3 "2000-02-10T14:36:00Z")
My wife tells me my chest flushes after sex. I don’t smoke, though. At least, I never looked. ::ducks and runs:: Cecil did a column re: unusual physiological responses to sexual stimuli. I don’t know how to post a hyperlink from the archives, but I know it’s there. The original question was from a woman who always sneezed when sexually aroused. It’s in one of his books, too. * * * The Dave-Guy “since my daughter’s only half-Jewish, can she go in up to her knees?” J.H. Marx ---
**Author:** ![ignatiusjreilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@ignatiusjreilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatiusjreilly)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/4 "2000-02-10T14:40:00Z")
And I thought this thread was about toilets… Just a WAG: One explanation is that blood pressure rises during physical exertion (including sex)and it takes a while to lower afterwards. Of course, when one is sated from pleasure, blood pressure drops too, so maybe I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![InutilisVisEst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d2c977/32.png) [@InutilisVisEst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InutilisVisEst)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/5 "2000-02-10T16:09:00Z")
Kinsey et al. found that a flush (usually on the chest and neck) accompanied orgasm, but this seems to indicate it disappears right afterwards. Do your cheeks tingle or feel prickly while still flushed? I’ve had that as a side effect from hyperventilating, but not every time. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/6 "2000-02-10T16:57:00Z")
“Men sweat, women glow.” ---
**Author:** ![Kiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiki)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/7 "2000-02-11T06:03:00Z")
My cheeks don’t tingle or anything… it’s just a pink color on the apple of my cheeks. I’ve never noticed if my chest is flushed, or his for that matter. I don’t know how long the color stays on my cheeks either. A few hours probably. * * * That John Denver’s full of shit man! ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushed/6984/8 "2000-02-11T06:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by handy: > \*\* > “Men sweat, women glow.”\*\* No, no. “ **Horses** sweat, men **perspire** , women glow.” I dunno who first said it, but it does appear to be a Southern thing. * * * …but when you get blue, and you’ve lost all your dreams, there’s nothing like a campfire and a can of beans!