LAUSR

I was not aware of the fact that I had unilateral gustatory flushing until I noticed a bright red stripe on my left cheek in the mirror after eating noodles when I was 10 years old. I was at a holiday club at the time and the staff noticed it and wondered if I had got sunburned. However, it went away in half an hour. I asked my parents about it and discovered that when I was 6 months old my mother came to pick me up from nursery to discover panicking nursery staff. ‘We think she’s allergic to something,’ they told her, recounting how a bright red rash had appeared on my left cheek after I ate tomato sauce. My mum (a dermatologist) noticed the same rash on my cheek later that day, this time after eating strawberries. She made the diagnosis of unilateral gustatory flushing, and thought it had happened because I was delivered by forceps at birth. I am now 17 years old and the red stripe on my cheek is just as pronounced and appears almost every time I eat (Fig. 1). It is difficult to predict which foods will set it off, making it quite difficult to deal with, especially as a teenage girl. Sour or acidic foods seem to make the stripe most obvious so I may try to avoid those type of foods in social situations. The redness cannot be covered with make-up as it shows through, which has resulted in me feeling rather self-conscious when eating in front of others. Even around family members, I still get people pointing it out and asking if I feel all right. One of the main reasons I was diagnosed with unilateral gustatory flushing and not an allergy was the fact that the red stripe is the only symptom I have and it is only on one cheek. Other than a slight transient tingling on my cheek, I am completely unaware of the condition, having grown accustomed to the odd looks I often get after eating. I think it is important to spread awareness about the syndrome, as it is unknown to many. If the correct diagnosis is not made, the patient could undergo unnecessary allergy testing, as well as the worry about an unknown cause. Although unilateral gustatory flushing is usually symptomless other than the red stripe, it can be alarming to others, so I believe more knowledge of this condition would help others, particularly those in childcare such as the nursery staff who were looking after me.