TFS- Tomato Face Syndrome

When ever I do a workout that is even a little intense, my face turns bright red and gets kind of puffy.  Anyone else have this happen?  Does it stop after a while?  Anything to counter-act it?  If not, maybe we could have a TFS support group, raise money for the cure, that kind of thing ;D

Yep, I get all red in the face to and it last for about an hour after my work out! It has happend to me since I was a kid so I don't think it goes away....sorry :(  I have no idea what causes or why it happens to me and not everybody. But I just tell myself it is because I am working so hard, and nobody can question that or assume I'm not pushing myself :)

Yeah, I think it is an individual thing. My sister and I have both gotten it our whole lives. My sister's is worse than mine, and it apparently has nothing to do with how good of shape we are in. When she was at the end of her training for a marathon her "TFS" would be just as bad on a 5 mile run as it was on her 20 mile runs. So...unfortunately I think its just the way we are made :)

Oh man!  I am totally the same way!!  I absolutely cannot stand the comments people make about "how out of shape I must be".  Even in high school when I was in track, volleyball and so on-it happened to me just the same.  For me, it lasts up till about 45 mns or so after I'm done.  Embarrassing-but what do you do!

Your face gets red when you excercise because you blood vessels open up and blood comes closer to the surface of your skin. some people are just worse than others.

I look awful when I leave the gym (I shower at home since I live so close by). My hair falls out of my ponytail, my face is beet red/ blotchy, and I'm all sweaty. Since I workout before work, when I'm leaving the gym, there are some people coming in to the office (same door). I think I scare them :)

I embrace my TFS =) The redder the harder i've worked out which = more weight lost!!!

i get red too, i am rather fair (irish coloring). means i got in a good workout. :)

This happens to my 4 yr old son when he plays really hard and hasn't had a drink for too long.  I find it pretty scary and make him stop immediatley and drink a whole glass of water.  It goes away very quickly after he drinks so I think it's dehydration.  I would say you need to drink more water DURING your workout.

Oh, I get it too!  But I know it's not dehydration....I have been that way all of my life (playing volleyball etc) and I drink plenty of water when I workout.  Usually after a shower it gets better though....

Me too real bad looks awful..but if you are supposed to stay all pretty while exercising then it wouldn't be considered hard work so just be proud of your red face it means you've worked really hard..but i did notice im not as red if i breathe more throught out my workout too!!

I get the same thing!  People who are new to the gym will sometimes ask me if I'm okay.  I'm fine, just red!  I think it's a combination of being fair-skinned and having good perfusion of blood to the skin.  One of my sisters who is the same skin-tone as me as this problem, the other doesn't.  Who knows?  I agree with the comments above -- be proud -- it's proof you've given yourself a great workout.  :)

Yeah, I guess at least in a few months I'll at least be a skinny tomato-face.

I get this too! But I had never really thought about it until now. It's certainly never bothered me, that's for sure! I'd much rather be bright red than white in the face. At least after a workout you look more human with some colour in your face than none at all! ;)

I have very fair skin so I'm guessing that's why I get it.

Same here! I exercise all the time but I still get it really bad- mostly when I play soccer or basketball. Anaerobic stuff.  Do you happen to be of Scandinavian descent?  Seems to affect Norwegian's and the like pretty badly.

I have suffered from a red face all my life and I to have been asked at the gym if I'm OK!! In November I finally plucked up the courage to have laser treatment to remove the redness and OH MY GOODNESS it made a huge difference. I used to cover my face in foundation before working out so it didn't look as bad, now I haven't worn it for three months and I only wear lip gloss and mascara when going out on the town. I totally recommend this treatment and yes I am of scandinavian descent.

Hmm, I'm not of Scandinavian descent, so I don't know what it is.  You can see in my pics, I'm light skinned, but not extremely fair.  I tan pretty well in the summer.  I think it might just be a blood flow thing.

People that get red faces have their capillaries closer to the surface of the skin that people who don't.  Lazer treatment can help with that if it's a problem that happens when you aren't working out.

I have also suffered from red face all my life and it has been so frustrating for me.  I got he nickname big red when I was six years old because my face not only turns red when I exercise it does when I get embarrassed too.  I avoid certain situations because of it and hate working out at a public gym because everyone looks at me after my workout.  I have always hated it.  I am so glad I am not the only one out there that is like this and it feels good to hear other people talk about the same thing I am experiencing. 

bnbarr -- I also suffer from the flushed face when I get embarrassed -- and it's embarrassing!  Everyone knows, immediately! 

As for the workout red -- I swim, and when I do a hard workout it's pretty obvious for about 1-1.5 hours after the fact.  It's definitely not dehydration as I drink througout my workout, but I am extremely pale (not the good Irish pale -- just regular pale), so I tend to belive the capillaries close to the skin theory.  I don't care anymore, any nobody really says anything anymore.

Sorry, I think it's genetic - but it looks like you're in good company!!  I'm always red-faced at the gym, but then so is about 1 in 3 people there.  Maybe that just means we're working harder than everyone else!!  Oh, and I love "TFS", totally made me laugh!