Can skin allergy be triggered by stress?

Do you notice red spots on your skin, swelling or itching when you are very stressed? And do you attribute these symptoms to mental exhaustion? But is there an allergy caused by stress?

The Doctor. Renan Augusto Pereira, an allergist and immunologist at the Allergy and Immunology Center at Hospital Moinhos de Vento, clarifies this issue. Check out the full interview with the expert below and get all your questions answered on the subject:

Many people notice a worsening of their skin allergies when they are experiencing stress or anxiety. Is there any relationship between them?

doctor Renan Augusto Pereira: That will depend on the type of allergy we are talking about. Some skin conditions are unrelated to stress, such as contact dermatitis. However, others, such as chronic spontaneous urticaria and atopic dermatitis, may worsen during periods of increased stress.

However, it is important to be careful: the psychological state or the psychiatric pathology is not the cause of these illnesses, they are just factors that can aggravate the crises, especially if the proper treatment is not being carried out.

Does this mean that it is necessary to treat these allergic diseases with therapy or medication for depression and anxiety, for example?

doctor Renan Pereira: A psychological evaluation is always valid in these cases. These treatments are extremely important for the multidisciplinary approach of these diseases.

We know that itching in the body is one of the symptoms that most affects sleep, school and work performance, in addition to social and emotional interaction, causing anxiety, depression and, in severe cases, even suicidal thoughts. Therefore, in addition to optimizing and treating the skin disease, it is also necessary to treat all the psychological consequences it brings and improve the patient's quality of life as a whole.

How to differentiate and diagnose these skin allergies?

doctor Renan Pereira: Everything starts with a medical consultation, where a detailed interview with the patient and a complete physical examination will be carried out. I've treated individuals who believed they had stress-related allergies but actually had a completely different illness.

In certain cases, some tests will be needed to make a more accurate diagnosis, such as blood tests, imaging, allergic skin tests or even a skin biopsy.

What can help the patient? Does the improvement in lifestyle, such as the practice of physical exercises and the adoption of a healthy diet, contribute to the treatment?

doctor Renan Pereira: When we talk about chronic skin diseases, we know that an isolated treatment is rarely effective.

A combination of factors is required for patient improvement, such as ongoing topical treatments and, in flares, systemic treatments (oral or injectable), as well as education about the disease and a conscious assessment of triggers for symptoms, as well as the choice of a healthy lifestyle.

This means that a well-fed, rested and active body works better in all respects, including the development of possible skin inflammation.

What advice do you have for anyone suffering from skin allergies?

doctor Renan Pereira: The tip is to seek help from a trained and attentive professional. The doctor, be it an allergist, a dermatologist, a pediatrician or a general practitioner, needs to listen to your complaints, perform an adequate examination and commit to helping you.

It is important to remember that these chronic skin conditions are complex and, in many cases, it takes some time to achieve satisfactory improvement. However, there are several approaches that can be adopted in medicine. The ideal is to have regular and continuous medical follow-up.