DXM/Red Face Prevention

[rules]

I have particularly dry skin. I use moisturizer daily in order to not have dead skin falling off my face and shit. It's annoying as hell, however when I take DXM, particularly high doses in the 1000mg range (go big or go home), I almost instantly get red blotches on my face which stay there for up to two weeks at a time. This alone has prevented me from abusing DXM for a while as it is very embarrassing and uncomfortable. Would there be any tested ways to avoid something like from happening? I assume it's from a massive histamine release and taking anti histamines should help however I remember a time when I used CCC's (not recommended) to trip and those have an anti histamine in them and I still got the red blotches. So i don't know if it's as simple as popping some diphen before the trip. Any ideas?

 

[jackie jones]

DPH would likely work. However, I theorize that it could be the chlorpheniramine maleate in the CCC's that is causing your face to turn red via the increase in blood pressure it causes in overdose cases. There is no need to use CCC's. It is so easy to find medicines with DXM as the only active ingredient.

 

[rules]

DPH would likely work. However, I theorize that it could be the chlorpheniramine maleate in the CCC's that is causing your face to turn red via the increase in blood pressure it causes in overdose cases. There is no need to use CCC's. It is so easy to find medicines with DXM as the only active ingredient.

no, i was just stating that i've used trips before (not anymore) and I was just stating that to emphasis that it may not be as simple as taking an antihistamine since CCC's chlorpheniramine is an antihistamine. I didn't know it caused an increase in blood pressure as well though and that may be why it no longer acted truly as an antihistamine anymore. DXM alone will cause my blotches, unfortunately.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

^Jackie - they were saying they no longer using CCC and were just mentioning it to explain that even though it contains an antihistamine they still had the same red blotches. (EDIT: wrote that before the OP replied)

. . . . .

Red blotches on the face or other areas seem to be a pretty common side effect of DXM.

There seem to be 2 types.

One is a temporary itchy red rash resulting from the histamine release which normally goes away pretty quickly and doesn't seem to occur in users of Corcidin Cough and Cold (NOT that using CCC is a good idea, just mentioning it as it is evidence that it's due to a histamine release).

The other type sounds more like what you have, longer-lasting, more noticeable red blotches. I'm not sure exactly what causes it, this could still be due to a very strong histamine release, and allergies/histamine is the most common cause of red blotches in general (including among non-DXM users, some people get it from makeup, sun, inhaled allergens, etc). It could be some sort of a true allergic reaction to the DXM or one of its inactive ingredients, but you said when you took CCC you still got it. I'm thinking it could possibly be due to broken capillaries or something like that, especially since you said it lasts for weeks afterwards.

Does anyone know if DXM causes blood vessels to dilate? I know some people get red skin or red blotches from alcohol, which dilates the blood vessels.

You could try adding an antihistamine (again) to see if it helps, although I'm not sure whether it would actually be a wise idea to take diphenhydramine with such high doses of DXM. Maybe a very small dose of diphenhydramine could be ok, but I'd be very careful because of interactions like possible serotonin syndrome, increase in adverse side effects, etc. Does anyone on here have personal experience taking diphenhydramine with such high doses of DXM? Another option is an antihistamine spray, which you would apply to the skin and so would be safer.

Of course, what I would do is not take such high doses of DXM

EDIT: Another "cause" of red blotches on the face is a condition called Rosacea, which is more of a set of symptoms as opposed to a specific cause. There are a few theories as to what might cause it, but the underlying cause(s) of Rosacea have not been proven. Rosacea may be a vascular disorder because of its association with flushing, redness and visible blood vessels. Some doctors have speculated that flushing may involve the nervous system, since rosacea is often triggered or aggravated when patients are under stress or take certain drugs. One theory about swelling is that increased blood flow during flushing leads to an increase in tissue fluid, which accumulates faster than the lymphatic system can remove it. The swelling in turn may contribute to skin thickening as tissue accumulates. So if what's happening to you is not due to a histamine reaction and more of a drug-induced Rosacea, this could be something to consider.

(sorry this was so long!)

 

[rules]

^Jackie - they were saying they no longer using CCC and were just mentioning it to explain that even though it contains an antihistamine they still had the same red blotches. (EDIT: wrote that before the OP replied)

. . . . .

Red blotches on the face or other areas seem to be a pretty common side effect of DXM.

There seem to be 2 types.

One is a temporary itchy red rash resulting from the histamine release which normally goes away pretty quickly and doesn't seem to occur in users of Corcidin Cough and Cold (NOT that using CCC is a good idea, just mentioning it as it is evidence that it's due to a histamine release).

The other type sounds more like what you have, longer-lasting, more noticeable red blotches. I'm not sure exactly what causes it, this could still be due to a very strong histamine release, and allergies/histamine is the most common cause of red blotches in general (including among non-DXM users, some people get it from makeup, sun, inhaled allergens, etc). It could be some sort of a true allergic reaction to the DXM or one of its inactive ingredients, but you said when you took CCC you still got it. I'm thinking it could possibly be due to broken capillaries or something like that, especially since you said it lasts for weeks afterwards.

Does anyone know if DXM causes blood vessels to dilate? I know some people get red skin or red blotches from alcohol, which dilates the blood vessels.

You could try adding an antihistamine (again) to see if it helps, although I'm not sure whether it would actually be a wise idea to take diphenhydramine with such high doses of DXM. Maybe a very small dose of diphenhydramine could be ok, but I'd be very careful because of interactions like possible serotonin syndrome, increase in adverse side effects, etc. Does anyone on here have personal experience taking diphenhydramine with such high doses of DXM? Another option is an antihistamine spray, which you would apply to the skin and so would be safer.

Of course, what I would do is not take such high doses of DXM

EDIT: Another "cause" of red blotches on the face is a condition called Rosacea, which is more of a set of symptoms as opposed to a specific cause. There are a few theories as to what might cause it, but the underlying cause(s) of Rosacea have not been proven. Rosacea may be a vascular disorder because of its association with flushing, redness and visible blood vessels. Some doctors have speculated that flushing may involve the nervous system, since rosacea is often triggered or aggravated when patients are under stress or take certain drugs. One theory about swelling is that increased blood flow during flushing leads to an increase in tissue fluid, which accumulates faster than the lymphatic system can remove it. The swelling in turn may contribute to skin thickening as tissue accumulates. So if what's happening to you is not due to a histamine reaction and more of a drug-induced Rosacea, this could be something to consider.

(sorry this was so long!)

one thing that caught my attention in the last part was where it says the part about "skin thickening". when the red blotches appear they seem to be sort of risen away from the rest of my skin and what it is effectively is pretty much dead skin on top of more and more dead skin. i wonder..

 

[Swimmingdancer]

one thing that caught my attention in the last part was where it says the part about "skin thickening". when the red blotches appear they seem to be sort of risen away from the rest of my skin and what it is effectively is pretty much dead skin on top of more and more dead skin. i wonder..

Do you ever get it, even if to a much lesser degree, when you haven't used DXM recently? If it is Rosecea that is triggered by drugs, the only real solution is to stop using the drug. An anti-histamine may help somewhat too, as histamine release can trigger or worsen Rosacea.

 

[bronson]

Moving this BDD --> PD