Stress, anxiety and emotions can not only affect your brain, but they can also affect your skin. Your skin is the largest organ in the body and you can tell when you are stressed, worried or emotional, by the way the skin reacts.
Skin Issue: Hives
Urticaria (o
r Hives as it is more commonly known) is a common skin condition that affects many. Hives consists of small raised, red and itchy bumps on the skin which do not only torture allergy sufferers. Stress in excess can cause these awful welts on the skin by increasing your body temperature and causing a release of adrenaline that in turn triggers the release of histamine within the body. It are these histamines that cause those annoyingly itchy lumps. Any kind of anxiety, anger even a work out, can increase your body temperature and cause these bumps to form. Hives can come on extremely quickly and can stay for up to an hour or more.
Solutions:
Treating the emotion or stress is quite an important step to helping reduce or prevent hives from occurring. Relaxation techniques are extremely important these can include; Yoga, Pilates and deep breathing meditation have been known to help avoid or reduce the effects of hives. Another way to help the symptoms of hives, is by using anti-histamines. Anti-histamines reduce the levels of histamines within the blood stream and help to reduce inflammation and itching.
Skin Issue: Blushing
Blushing can be quite an unfortunate skin issue, it is a way in which your skin portrays the way you are feeli
ng inside. Fear, embarrassment and anxiety can cause blushing. Blushing is when our ‘flight or fight’ response kicks in which causes our body to release adrenaline. Adrenaline causes the blood vessels in the face to dilate, therefore causing the face to flush and turn a red colour, usually in our cheeks.
Solution:
Blushing is totally natural, however one way to reduce the redness is by holding a piece of ice in your mouth or a cold can over your jugular. This can help to block the nerve impulse that stimulates flushing in the face and can lessen the intensity of the flush or even prevent it.
If you are looking for a long-term solution for blushing, bio-feedback is a great way to control your blood vessels. Using electrical sensors that help you receive information about your body. Being able to control these impulses which cause your blood vessels to dilate, can prevent blushing. It may take a while, however can be very beneficial to those public speakers out there.
Skin Issue: Picking
When under a lot of pressure, stress and anxiety some resort to skin picking. For some it is a guilty pleasure which can result in the skin becoming red, infected and a few layers short of being healthy.
Solution:
Using an exfoliating brush, is a great way to remove dead, flaky or ‘pickable’ skin, preventing you from picking it off yourself.
If people con
tinue to pick at their skin, some dermatologists recommend counselling. It is extremely important to find out the root of your skin picking problem. Additionally, some dermatologists insist on covering up fingers and certain parts of your skin with plasters, which creates a barrier, protecting the skin underneath and preventing you from picking it.
Occupying your hands with menial tasks such as squeezing stress balls, playing the piano or something which uses your fingers, can be part of the treatment to stop you picking your skin.
Finally, hypnosis is a technique which has been proven to reduce and even stop ‘skin pickers’.
Resisting the temptation is extremely important as the more you pick, the worse your skin will become.
Skin Issue: Rosacea
Rosacea is a very common skin condition that affects women in their 30’s. It is difficult to get rid of, but it can be reduced. Rosacea appears as small red bumps, lumps and blood vessels on the skin. Rosacea is commonly misdiagnosed as an allergy response or even blushing. These annoying, red patches come and go, or remain on the skin constantly. Rosacea can be triggered by many things these include; Spicy food, stress, emotional turmoil, red wine and temperature change.
Solution:
Avoid all the foods which trigger your flare-up of Rosacea. One way of doing this is by keeping a diary 
of your daily food intake and activities. Once you know what causes your Rosacea to rear its ugly head, you will know what to steer clear of.
If your Rosacea becomes infected and almost looks like acne, then an oral and topical antibiotic would be a good idea to help tackle the infection and inflammation. If the infection persists, go and see your doctor.
‘Nuriss Rosacea Treatment’ is another great way to tackle the persistent nag of Rosacea. Our very own Dr Anita tell us a little about what we can expect; “We will talk you through the treatment options, which may include a series of medical peel treatments, laser therapy, home care treatment programmes and in some case antibiotics may be prescribed”.
Skin Issue: Rashes
Rashes can become present at any time. You do not necessarily need to be close to a poisonous plant just to get a rash. Stress or high levels of emotion can cause a release of histamines in the blood, which can cause rashes. People who suffer with skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis are predisposed to rashes.
Solution:
As anxiety and stress can be a nuisance for rash-prone people, some doctors and dermatologist recommend therapy as well as topical treatment or oral treatment. Discussing your stress with a doctor or a therapist can result
in a prescription of low dose antidepressants or anti-anxiety tablets, which can help alleviate stress and anxiety in the short term.
A study in America consisted of psoriasis patients who took part in meditation sessions and light-therapy sessions and the outcome was astounding. The results showed that their skin cleared up over 40% faster than those who only used the light-therapy.
Skin Issue: Sensitive Skin
When you are feeling particularly stressed, your skin can play up. It is the neuropeptides within the skin, which are partly to blame for sensitive skin. Studies have shown that stress and anxiety can cause your skin to lose water quicker. This causes the skin to become dehydrated, this in turn causes the skin cells to become shriveled and flaccid, which cause gaps between the skin cells to form. These gaps are the perfect environment for irritants.
Solution:
Taking supplements are extremely important to avoid sensitive skin and keep your skin looking fresh and hydrated. Taking omega fatty acids and Vitamin D can be very useful in aiding skin repair.
Using mild and hydrating skin care products are much better for your skin than thick, oily and highly fragranced products. Products which contain green tea extract and bisabolol are really helpful if you suffer from sensitive skin.
Make sure that you moisturise often, using lotions which contain ceramides and humectants, these can help soothe the skin and help it function better.
Skin Issue: Acne
When experiencing a lot of stress, this stimulates your stress hormone which in turn increases the production of oil and clogs your pores, causing raging spots.
Solutions:
There are many ways to help with acne prone skin. One way to assist or prevent acne is by learning to de-stress. Yoga, boxing or even a warm bath is a great way to reduce the amount of stress in your life.
If having a str
ess-free life, doesn’t even touch the surface of your skin, using an ‘over-the-counter’ spot treatment can help, but if it still doesn’t help, speak to your doctor or skin care professional who can prescribe you with an oral antibiotic for the internal infection, and even a topical steroid/antibiotic treatment. These can help shrink your spots and get rid of the infection and inflammation.
When nothing works and you are feeling downright depressed and embarrassed to leave the house, then Nuriss has the answer for you. “Advanced Nuriss Acne Blue Light Laser Therapy Programmes can help to get your Acne under control. Our Nuriss AFT laser system uses intense blue wavelengths of light to destroy P.acnes bacteria, the bacteria known to be linked to acne,” says our very own Dr Anita.
So don’t worry ladies, there are many ways to help you with your emotional skin.
