In most cases the face, ears and neck are the sole parts which redden;
but many persons, whilst blushing intensely, feel that their whole
bodies grow hot and tingle; and this shows that the entire surface must
be in some manner affected. Blushes are said sometimes to commence on
the forehead, but more commonly on the cheeks, afterwards spreading to
the ears and neck.[1306] In two Albinos examined by Dr. Burgess, the
blushes commenced by a small circumscribed spot on the cheeks, over the
parotidean plexus of nerves, and then increased into a circle; between
this blushing circle and the blush on the neck there was an evident
line of demarcation; although both arose simultaneously. The retina,
which is naturally red in the Albino, invariably increased at the same
time in redness.[1307] Every one must have noticed how easily after one
blush fresh blushes chase each other over the face. Blushing is
preceded by a peculiar sensation in the skin. According to Dr. Burgess
the reddening of the skin is generally succeeded by a slight pallor,
which shows that the capillary vessels contract after dilating. In some
rare cases paleness instead of redness is caused under conditions which
would naturally induce a blush. For instance, a young lady told me that
in a large and crowded party she caught her hair so firmly on the
button of a passing servant, that it took some time before she could be
extricated; from her sensations she imagined that she had blushed
crimson; but was assured by a friend that she had turned extremely
pale.
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