Can dermatitis be caused by stress?

[MarshmallowPink]

Very stressful time and have had flare up all over my face and neck. I do get contact dermatitis but have changed nothing re my skin routine. Do you know if stress could cause a flare up or is it always linked to an allergen? Google inconclusive so just wondering about anecdotally. I'm just not sure how to care for it, nothing really works

Red itchy bump :-)

My eczema is always worse when I’m stressed - it’s my ‘tell’ that I need to do something to reduce my stress levels

When I had excema severe enough to be referred to a Dermatologist, the first thing she asked was whether I had had a lot of stress recently.
I am atopic, as is most of my family, with asthma and/or excema, but specialists confirm stress is a trigger.

I get eczema under my eyes when I'm stressed. So painful! Makes me look like a scabby panda 🐼

I had rough red patches all over my arms when coming up to O Levels (obviously a long time ago). After the exams they vanished. I wasn’t even particularly stressed about them, but presumably that was the reason.
Never had them for A levels or any other exams or stressful situations since.

I’ve been told yes, plus immune system issues post having covid could be a contributor. I’ve had weird flare ups on my foot that no one can settle on what it is - either eczema, athletes foot or pompholyx eczema and no creams help, so I’m off to see a dermatologist next week

Look into rosacia, it's not just red cheeks there's an advanced stage that's more like spots. I got that when moving house and stressed out of my mind.

It can be cleared up and controlled with antibiotics, but it's not bacterial, it's a side effect of the anti biotics that they reduce inflammation in your system.

I managed to get off the meds by controlling my stress, eating better and generally being healthier.

This reminds me of working in a school!

It was SATs time and several KS1 children had eczema breakouts due to the pressure and worry 😭

Yes, although it's psoriasis I get on my hands. Its there nearly all the time but is definitely worse when I am stressed. I get pimples as well, really angry ones. Delightful.

Although as a PP said, it can be a very useful visual indicator to make you realise you need to slow down/change something.

Hi, I get stress-related hives (urticaria). It's how my body deals, or rather doesn't!, with rising cortisol levels.
Have a look online and see what you can find out and if fits with your symptoms.
I had to take steroids for both my wedding and an international house move, when I wouldn't have said I felt overly stressed in myself.
Hope you get to the bottom of it.

I should have mentioned it's my face & neck affected too.

Yes, absolutely, one of my triggers, like so many on here. Work on skin feeling comfortable and you feeling comfortable- forget what it looks like. I say that and I'm there with @CanadianMoose , scabby panda wave to you! Then the severity will lessen, hopefully, and you can heal. This can be anything: more sleep, salt baths, emollients, soft clothing- bamboo viscose is great, doing less in general.

Thanks so much everyone, I'm really relieved to hear all of this! Absolutely take the point about it being a message from the body. I just need to work out how to calm myself down, starting with all those last suggestions. I felt instinctively it must be stress aggravated but couldn't find anything that didn't privilege other factors (mainly topical). So thank you thank you! Just recognising this will help me treat it by relaxing proactively

Maybe not caused by, but certainly exacerbated by (in my case). Horrendous psoriasis when going through my divorce.

I think your own history with eczema matters here, for me I have only ever had it as an allergic reaction and it can last months until I figure out the culprit. But I have never suffered with atopic eczema, only allergic contact dermatitis.

Yes, sorry it is atopic dermatitis I've had throughout my life. Also had ezcema. I now get flare ups vanishingly rarely and I've changed nothing in my skincare routine (which is nailed down). The excess stress is the only thing that's different.

You might want to look into the benefits of the carnivore diet for this OP and also look at YouTube videos by Sally K Norton regarding oxalate build up.

Yes I do. On my face and scalp, and also a never ending round of untreatable athletes foot.

Thanks @PatriciaPattersonGimlin I'll do that now

Yes definitely
Mine comes back in my eyebrows and underneath my eyes first