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Does Stress Cause Acne?In short, yes, stress does cause acne. A study measured how stress levels affect acne in college students during examination period. This is the conclusion of the study."Patients with acne may experience worsening of the disease during examinations. Furthermore, changes in acne severity correlate highly with increasing stress, suggesting that emotional stress from external sources may have a significant influence on acne." The Response of Skin Disease to StressChanges in the Severity of Acne Vulgaris as Affected by Examination Stress Archives of Dermatology 2003; 139: 897-900Annie Chiu, BS; Susan Y. Chon, MD; Alexa B. Kimball, MD, MPH In plain English, those who reported higher levels of stress had more pimples. To understand how stress causes adult acne we first need to understand what stress does to your body. How stress affects youStress is your body's response to potentially life-threatening situation, say an attack by a tiger. "Virtually all systems (e.g., the heart and blood vessels, the immune system, the lungs, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and brain) are modified to meet the perceived danger." http://www.reutershealth.com/wellconnected/doc31.html (link broken) The body directs all the resources to the systems fighting the tiger and all the non-essential systems stop. For example:
Doing so the body discharges many hormones that disturb the balance. All these hormones must be later on deactivated and neutralized by the liver, which further reduces its capacity to neutralize toxins. Stress and adult acneHow and what type of stress causes adult acne? First, you should understand that occasional stress will most likely have no effect on adult acne. However lets say that you face a stressful period at work or college and are under stress for few weeks. This is where things get difficult. In respect to adult acne what do you think happens when stress suppresses the immune system, digestion and the liver for few weeks? Suppressing digestion leads to more fermentation and putrefaction in the gut, which leads to more and more toxins leaking to your body. Suppressing the liver leads to reduced elimination of these toxins. Toxins create acidity in the body. Acidity means the body becomes a fertile terrain for acne-causing bacteria to flourish. Couple that with suppressed immune system and the circle of acne is complete. Some of the hormones the body discharges during stress has direct effect on acne, like this one: "The German researchers found that a stress hormone called corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) is released in the sebaceous gland -- producing oily skin, which sets the stage for acne." http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/conditions/05/14/acne.stress/ Another study found that emotional stress increases the free fatty acids on skin surface - thus indirectly causing adult acne. This is from the summary of the study: "Emotional stress was accompanied by an exacerbation of acne vulgaris lesionsand an increase in skin surface free fatty acids." Stress, Acne and Skin Surface Free Fatty AcidsStephen J. Kraus, MD Click here to read the study (PDF file) To summarize: Stress causes adult acne directly (by increasing sebum production) and indirectly (by increasing the toxin load and reducing the body's ability to neutralize them). Click here for simple tips and tricks to manage stress. And here's how to kick acne out of your life for good.
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