If you have ever been under a lot of stress, you may be aware that it can negatively affect you in a number of different ways. One way is by giving you stress hives. Stress hives occur when a person is under an extreme amount of stress, leading to a physical reaction in the body. Here is a look at stress hives and how to get rid of them. 
What are Stress Hives?
Stress hives are hives that are brought about when someone is under stress or they are exposed to something that is causing an allergic reaction. Moreover, if you are experiencing an allergic reaction, stress may still be able to make your hives worse. Regardless of the cause, the body’s response is the same. Your body ends up making more histamine than you need, which causes hives to appear on your skin.
What Do Stress Hives Look Like?
Stress hives can look like a few different things. They are generally either areas of red bumps that resemble bug bites, or areas that are raised and look like welts. The hives can be small or large in size, from a few centimeters up to the size of a hubcap. The welts may be hot to the touch as well. They are also able to show up at any location on the body. If you have some type of skin condition already, your hives may look similar to the reaction you have when your skin condition flares up.
Are Stress Hives the Same As A Stress Rash?
Stress rash and stress hives are essentially the same thing. Some people call it a rash and some people refer to it has hives. This is because the stress response that shows up on your skin may look like hives or like a rash, depending on the person that is affected by it. Either way, it should be treated the same way. Hives look different from person to person, so if yours do not look the ways that are described above, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not experiencing stress hives or stress rash.
Causes of Stress Hives
Much like hives in general, stress hives can be caused by the same things. You may have been exposed to a trigger, such as a food item or plant you are allergic to. Additionally, pollen or changes in weather can cause this type of reaction. When you are stressed, you may be more easily affected by something in the environment, like the sun, than if you aren’t stressed. If you are wondering, “Can hives be caused by stress?” the answer is yes. When stress is affecting you and other parts of your body, it can also affect your skin.
At times, a product you are using can cause a reaction as well. If you use a lot of soaps, lotions, or similar products, you may have to read the ingredients closely, to note if there is anything you are allergic to.
Health.com reports that stress-related hives are common, so they are not a cause for concern. You can get the support you need to get rid of them whenever they are affecting your routine.
Getting Rid of Hives from Stress
There are a few courses of action when it comes to treatments for stress hives. You will first need to determine if you have a skin condition or are allergic to things that can be tested for. You should visit your doctor and get an allergy test if you suspect that you are allergic to something you are commonly exposed to. This test will be able to give you a definitive answer, so you can rule out these things if they aren’t applicable.
To treat hives from stress, you can use the same medicines that are commonly used for allergic reactions. You can take a medicine that blocks the histamines that your body makes or use skin creams to help keep the itchiness at bay. Talk to your doctor about how to control your hives or treat them once they show up.
After you get your hives under control, you should consider addressing the stress that may have contributed to the hives. To do this, a valuable course of action is to visit with a therapist and talk to them about stress management techniques or other techniques that can help you handle your feelings. They may be able to help you lessen your stress or show you techniques to help you manage your stress.
If you are wondering whether or not you have too much stress in your life, take this stress test and check out the results.
When you develop stress-induced hives, keep in mind that they should only last for around a day, unless you continue to be exposed to the substance that is causing a reaction on your skin. This could make the hives continue to show up until something changes.
Home Therapies for Stress Hives
There are a few things that you can try at home, which may allow you to manage your stress levels. This might be able to limit hives that show up as well.
- Find ways to relax. When you are experiencing hives too often or are affected by other symptoms that stress causes, you should look into ways to relax. This may be something like yoga, meditating, or getting a massage. You can determine what works well for you and add it to your routine, and hopefully, you can see your stress levels drop.
- Exercise. When you are stressed, you may want to start exercising. Doing this might be able to help you forget, even if temporarily, what was bothering you in the first place. You will need to focus on getting through your workout. Moreover, exercising might help you figure out answers to the problems that you are concerned about. Sometimes all it takes is for you to not focus on the aspects of life that are bothering you the most, and you are able to work through them effectively. In addition, doing physical exercises releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins, which our bodies produce naturally.
- Don’t isolate yourself. When you aren’t feeling your best, you might feel like you need to be by yourself. This may not be the best course of action, however. Instead, try to spend some time with someone you trust and respect. They may be able to help you talk through what is stressing you out. You will be able to get another perspective, which could make your issues seem less important. Your friend or family member may also have been through similar situations and be able to help you out or talk you through what they did to get through the process.
- Take care of your health. When you are stressed or experiencing hives more often than you want to, you should pay attention to your health and take care of it the best you can. Get a checkup if you need one and make sure that there is nothing else going on with your body. You should also eat healthy foods and be certain that you are sleeping enough each night. These things can go a long way into making you feel good about your health and your body.
- Follow your mental health plan. It is a good idea to follow the mental health plan that your therapist has laid out for you if you opted to get therapy. When you work through the treatment effectively, you may be able to see some symptoms of stress disappear. In other words, you could be free of hives when you go through a well thought out treatment.
Outlook
When you are looking at your skin and thinking, “Can stress cause hives?” it absolutely can. Just like with triggers or allergens that you may be exposed to, hives can show up because you are stressed. This doesn’t mean that you aren’t also exposed to an allergen, but it means the reaction to it may be worse due to stress.
If you find that you are often seeing hives on your skin, you need to determine how you want to manage your stress. There are many strategies you can take advantage of. You may also want to meet with a psychologist to talk about the things that are concerning you and causing you to get these hives.
Getting a clean bill of your health from your doctor is also a good approach since you will be certain that a skin disorder isn’t to blame. If it is not, you may need to consider the products that you are using or the weather conditions you are exposed to. You are able to treat the hives topically and also make changes that can keep the hives from coming back. Talk to your therapist about your stress levels and the causes, so you can work through these things. This is your best chance to keep stress hives from reoccurring and messing up your day. Get the support you need when hives are bothering you. You need an answer that works.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What do stress hives look like?
How do you get rid of hives from anxiety?
Can emotional stress cause hives?
Do stress hives go away?
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