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ALLERGIES WORSEN FOR A STRESSED PERSON
Les,
I’m not sure but it seems to me that my allergies are worse when I’m stressed out. Is there any information that supports this personal theory?
Sneezy
Yes, and bless you, Sneezy,
Have you ever had one of those skin prick tests where they inject you with small amounts of common allergens like dust and mold to see how the area around the injection reacts—an indication of whether or not you’re allergic to those substances? Ohio State University researchers pricked volunteers and then stressed them with public speaking and performance tasks to see if the anxiety and strain of these stressors had any impact on their skin reactions to the injected allergens. Well the reactions of those who felt merely somewhat stressed by the tasks were a whopping 75% greater than those who didn’t feel stressed. Amazingly, subjects who said they were really stressed by the speaking activities had reactions that were twice as great as non-stressed subjects. But perhaps most importantly, the really stressed were four times more likely to have a stronger reaction to the skin tests the next day as compared to their less stressed counterparts, according to this 2008 study.
This last bit of info is nothing to sneeze at because it indicates that the effects of limited-duration stressors like presentations can hang around and make allergic reactions linger and worsen over time, and may cause stressed people to react to allergens that might not have bothered them if they hadn’t been hot and bothered by stressors. This second-day finding is also significant because day-two allergy symptoms do not typically respond to the most common allergy medicines such as antihistamines, say the researchers. I’m not done yet: these extended reactions are also a factor in allergic asthma that can be life threatening. Finally, this loitering stress response may explain why allergy symptoms sometimes go away and then suddenly reappear.
So, given all of the above, it’s possible that being less stressed at and during the time we are exposed to pollen, ragweed, pet dander and so on will reduce our reactions to them, and do away with some or all of the meds we take and doc visits we make to cope. Since allergies are the fifth most common chronic illness and contribute to headaches, sinus infections, asthma attacks, rashes, fatigue, lethargy and snotty head—plus the side effects of some allergy medications—stress management may once again be a cheap and effective piece of the better health pie.
Les
1/09
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