Study: Stress & Anxiety Make Your Allergies Worse

Main Category: Allergy
Also Included In: Anxiety / Stress;  Psychology / Psychiatry;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 18 Aug 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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If you're one of the millions of Americans who suffer from allergies,* this story is for you. Scientists have determined that when it comes to allergies, it's not just things like pets or pollen that are making you miserable- it might also be your job or your relationship. A new study is proving that there is a link between how bad your allergies are, and how much stress you're under.

Whether it's being outside around dust or pollen or inside around her friend's cat- there are times that Megan Sheasby feels like she just can't escape the grip of her allergies.

"My nose completely clogs up, my throat will sometimes, depending on the type of allergy, close up as well, red, puffy eyes, just very itchy," says Megan.

While it may be Megan's surroundings that trigger her allergies, a new study says it's stress that's making them worse.

"We found that stress and anxiety make a big difference in terms of allergic responses," says Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD , Ohio State University Medical Center.

Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center first put things like pollen and ragweed on the arms of volunteers, and monitored their skin.

"If you don't have an allergy, you're just going to see a little bit of redness temporarily and that'll be the end of it. But if you're a highly allergic person, you're going to get something called a wheal," says Ronald Glaser, PhD, Ohio State University Medical Center.

A wheal looks like a red, puffy area, and it tells doctors your allergic. In a relaxed setting the reactions were normal, but to see how stress would affect those with allergic reactions, experts asked the volunteers to give a speech- in front of others and into a microphone. As stress levels went up, the allergic reactions got worse, and in some cases it was 2 to 4 times as bad.

"So the take-home message is, if you're allergic, stress and anxiety are a bad combination," says Kiecolt-Glaser.

It's a message some 50 million Americans* need to hear, because the $3.4 billion allergies cost us every year in this country** is nothing to sneeze at. Experts from Ohio State say anything you can do to relax and reduce your stress, may end up helping to ease your allergies too. Things like massages and meditation could help.

The findings of the study will be presented this month at the American Psychological Association Meeting in Boston.

*Allergy Facts & Figures, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, retrieved August 2008, from http://www.aafa.org
**American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, retrieved August 2008 from http://www.aaaai.org

Ohio State University Medical Center