Stress May Exacerbate Skin Diseases

Filed in archive Skin Allergies on October 27, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6087826

Having a rough day? Breathe in, breathe out. Release all the stress. It's bad for your skin.

Researchers lead by Dr. Petra Arck of Charité, University of Medicine Berlin and McMaster University in Canada, hypothesized that stress could exacerbate skin disease by increasing the number of immune cells in the skin. To test this hypothesis, they exposed mice to sound stress. Dr. Arck's group found that this stress challenge resulted in higher numbers of mature white blood cells in the skin. Furthermore, blocking the function of two proteins that attract immune cells to the skin, LFA-1 and ICAM-1, prevented the stress-induced increase in white blood cells in the skin.

Taken together, these data suggest that stress activates immune cells, which in turn are central in initiating and perpetuating skin diseases.

OK, some of the immunology mumbo-jumbo are way over my head, but this may explain why I'm having eczema breakouts on-and-off the last few weeks- stress and sleeplessness.

Do you also find that your skin problems are aggravated by stress?