Can Anxiety Cause a Rash?

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Symptoms

Causes

Treatment

Prevention

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Hives are puffy, raised welts that most commonly appear on the skin as a result of an allergic reaction, but there are actually a number of different things that can cause people to break out in hives, includinganxiety. When this happens, people can develop an itchy rash on the skin known as an anxiety rash (sometimes called anxiety hives or a stress rash).

Stress is a normal part of daily life. But when thatstress goes unchecked, or when it’s actually undiagnosed anxiety, it can come with a host of negative side effects. If you have hives and cannot pinpoint any other cause, anxiety could be the culprit and it’s worth consulting a doctor or mental health professional to confirm.

At a GlanceAnxiety can have physical effects, including on your skin. Those itchy, red welts you might get when you are feeling really stressed and anxious can be annoying and uncomfortable. However, it’s important to remember that rashes and hives can have other causes, so be sure to rule out other causes. If stress and anxiety are the cause, there are steps you can take tomanage your stress responseand reduce the likelihood of developing a stress rash.

At a Glance

Anxiety can have physical effects, including on your skin. Those itchy, red welts you might get when you are feeling really stressed and anxious can be annoying and uncomfortable. However, it’s important to remember that rashes and hives can have other causes, so be sure to rule out other causes. If stress and anxiety are the cause, there are steps you can take tomanage your stress responseand reduce the likelihood of developing a stress rash.

What Are the Symptoms of an Anxiety Rash?

Stress rashes often appear as hives, also known as urticaria, which tend to be:

Hives can appear anywhere on the body. However, an anxiety rash on the face, neck, and chest are some of the most common. While they may initially start as tiny red bumps like a typical rash, stress rashes often become larger welts or patches that worsen after scratching them.

Individual hives can be as large as dinner plates, but smaller hives can also merge so that they appear to cover a large portion of the body.

How Long Do Anxiety Rashes Last?Most anxiety rashes disappear within 24 hours; however, if you’re still seeing hives after a couple of days, it’s recommended that you consult a dermatologist.

How Long Do Anxiety Rashes Last?

Most anxiety rashes disappear within 24 hours; however, if you’re still seeing hives after a couple of days, it’s recommended that you consult a dermatologist.

What Causes an Anxiety Rash?

Hives are often the result of an allergic reaction to something in your environment. But emotional stress can cause a rash, too. This is because stress can trigger a response in the sympathetic nervous system, leading to the release of histamine.

Most commonly, hives are a result of one of the following causes:

If you’ve ruled out these common causes, it’s possible that stress is a factor.

Is It Anxiety or Something Else?

Some questions you might ask yourself to help pinpoint the cause include:

If you cannot pinpoint another cause and you have been experiencing a great deal of stress, your hives might be a stress rash.

Stress rashes tend to appear most commonly in women during their 30s, 40s, and 50s. People who have had allergic hives in the past are also at a higher risk of experiencing anxiety hives.

How Is an Anxiety Rash Treated?

If you are experiencing a stress rash, it’s important to find ways to relieve your immediate symptoms in the short-term while also looking for ways to lower your stress over the long term.

Care for Your Skin

Stress Rash Home RemediesSome topical treatments such as oatmeal bathsor applying aloe verato a stress rash may help reduce inflammation. However, it’s best to check with a doctor prior to treating your rash at home.

Stress Rash Home Remedies

Some topical treatments such as oatmeal bathsor applying aloe verato a stress rash may help reduce inflammation. However, it’s best to check with a doctor prior to treating your rash at home.

Take an Antihistamine

Over-the-counter products such asBenadryl(diphenhydramine), Claritin (loratadine), and Allegra (fexofenadine) can help relieve hives.

For more severe cases of hives, a doctor may prescribe a corticosteroid such as prednisone.

Use Stress Management Techniques

If you are feelingacute stress, try somefast-acting stress relieversthat may help provide some more immediate relief. Deep breathing can be an effective way to calm your body and mind, but other strategies like taking a walk around the block or doing a few minutes ofquiet meditationcan also help.

You should also talk to a doctor if your hives worsen or last longer than six weeks. Hives that persist longer than six weeks are considered chronic and may not go away on their own without medical attention.

Preventing Anxiety Rashes

If you are prone to stress rashes, it is important to learn how to identify your triggers and be proactive about preventing stress and stress rash from happening in the first place.

If you are experiencing a stress rash, it may be a sign that you need to find a way to better manage stress and anxiety. It’s important to build good stress coping techniques.

Challenge Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughtscan cause feelings of anxiety. Learning how to identify and then challenge these negative thoughts can help you replace them with more realistic, positive ones.

Change Your Situation

If there is something in your life that is causing a great deal of anxiety, think about what you can do to change the situation. This might involve delegating some tasks to others, cutting back on your commitments, orsetting boundarieswith others.

Try Journaling

Research suggests that expressive writing may be helpful for reducing feelings of anxiety. Considerkeeping a journalwhere you write about things that you are experiencing or some of the things for which you are grateful.

Consider Professional Treatment

Anxiety can have a serious effect on your life and can become worse over time if left untreated. If you feel like your anxiety is creating significant distress or making it difficult to function normally in your daily life, talk to amental health professional. Effective treatments are available that can help you get your anxiety under control.

Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

Takeaways

Stress and anxiety can be difficult to deal with, and experiencing itchy, uncomfortable hives can make what you are feeling feel even worse. Fortunately, anxiety hives are usually manageable with some self-treatment.

If you are prone to stress rashes, the best way to manage them is to get your anxiety under control. Talk to a doctor about some of the ways you can cope, which may includemedication,psychotherapy, or a combination of the two.

16 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nemours Children’s Health.Hives (urticaria).American Academy of Dermatology Association.10 ways to get relief from chronic hives.MedlinePlus.Hives.American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.Angioedema defined.American Academy of Dermatology.What are hives?American Institute of Stress.What to do when stress gives you hives.MedlinePlus.Contact dermatitis.American Academy of Family Physicians.Exercise-induced urticaria.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Welts on skin due to cold temperature could be hives.Schaefer P.Acute and chronic urticaria: Evaluation and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(11):717-724.Merk Manual Consumer Version.Drug rashes.De Martinis M, Sirufo MM, Ginaldi L.Solar urticaria, a disease with many dark sides: Is omalizumab the right therapeutic response? Reflections from a clinical case report.Open Med (Wars). 2019;14:403-406. doi:10.1515/med-2019-0042Tokura Y.Direct and indirect action modes of acetylcholine in cholinergic urticaria.Allergology International. 2021;70(1):39-44. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2020.05.006Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL.Anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repair effects of topical application of some plant oils.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;19(1):70. doi:10.3390/ijms19010070National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Aloe vera.Shen L, Yang L, Zhang J, Zhang M.Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples.PLoS One. 2018;13(2):e0191779. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191779

16 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nemours Children’s Health.Hives (urticaria).American Academy of Dermatology Association.10 ways to get relief from chronic hives.MedlinePlus.Hives.American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.Angioedema defined.American Academy of Dermatology.What are hives?American Institute of Stress.What to do when stress gives you hives.MedlinePlus.Contact dermatitis.American Academy of Family Physicians.Exercise-induced urticaria.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Welts on skin due to cold temperature could be hives.Schaefer P.Acute and chronic urticaria: Evaluation and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(11):717-724.Merk Manual Consumer Version.Drug rashes.De Martinis M, Sirufo MM, Ginaldi L.Solar urticaria, a disease with many dark sides: Is omalizumab the right therapeutic response? Reflections from a clinical case report.Open Med (Wars). 2019;14:403-406. doi:10.1515/med-2019-0042Tokura Y.Direct and indirect action modes of acetylcholine in cholinergic urticaria.Allergology International. 2021;70(1):39-44. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2020.05.006Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL.Anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repair effects of topical application of some plant oils.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;19(1):70. doi:10.3390/ijms19010070National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Aloe vera.Shen L, Yang L, Zhang J, Zhang M.Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples.PLoS One. 2018;13(2):e0191779. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191779

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Nemours Children’s Health.Hives (urticaria).American Academy of Dermatology Association.10 ways to get relief from chronic hives.MedlinePlus.Hives.American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.Angioedema defined.American Academy of Dermatology.What are hives?American Institute of Stress.What to do when stress gives you hives.MedlinePlus.Contact dermatitis.American Academy of Family Physicians.Exercise-induced urticaria.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Welts on skin due to cold temperature could be hives.Schaefer P.Acute and chronic urticaria: Evaluation and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(11):717-724.Merk Manual Consumer Version.Drug rashes.De Martinis M, Sirufo MM, Ginaldi L.Solar urticaria, a disease with many dark sides: Is omalizumab the right therapeutic response? Reflections from a clinical case report.Open Med (Wars). 2019;14:403-406. doi:10.1515/med-2019-0042Tokura Y.Direct and indirect action modes of acetylcholine in cholinergic urticaria.Allergology International. 2021;70(1):39-44. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2020.05.006Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL.Anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repair effects of topical application of some plant oils.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;19(1):70. doi:10.3390/ijms19010070National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Aloe vera.Shen L, Yang L, Zhang J, Zhang M.Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples.PLoS One. 2018;13(2):e0191779. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191779

Nemours Children’s Health.Hives (urticaria).

American Academy of Dermatology Association.10 ways to get relief from chronic hives.

MedlinePlus.Hives.

American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.Angioedema defined.

American Academy of Dermatology.What are hives?

American Institute of Stress.What to do when stress gives you hives.

MedlinePlus.Contact dermatitis.

American Academy of Family Physicians.Exercise-induced urticaria.

American Academy of Dermatology Association.Welts on skin due to cold temperature could be hives.

Schaefer P.Acute and chronic urticaria: Evaluation and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(11):717-724.

Merk Manual Consumer Version.Drug rashes.

De Martinis M, Sirufo MM, Ginaldi L.Solar urticaria, a disease with many dark sides: Is omalizumab the right therapeutic response? Reflections from a clinical case report.Open Med (Wars). 2019;14:403-406. doi:10.1515/med-2019-0042

Tokura Y.Direct and indirect action modes of acetylcholine in cholinergic urticaria.Allergology International. 2021;70(1):39-44. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2020.05.006

Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL.Anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repair effects of topical application of some plant oils.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;19(1):70. doi:10.3390/ijms19010070

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Aloe vera.

Shen L, Yang L, Zhang J, Zhang M.Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples.PLoS One. 2018;13(2):e0191779. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191779

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