Acne-Causing Stress Guide - what proves acne-causing stress?
Acne-Causing Stress: What Proves It?
Acne-causing stress is an issue that is still debatable. The health circles have not been certain until some years ago whether stress may really cause real acne or not. However, this does not negate the fact that the medical field is still divided between believing in it or not. The onset of acne to some people may be caused by stress as a number of medical studies proves.
There are two ways that stress may aggravate acne: one is stress being able to stimulate the adrenal glands to produce more hormones and the other is by slowing down the process of healing.
Above the kidneys are the adrenal glands which secrete hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine. Together with the male hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex that are released only under stressful conditions, this condition stimulates the release of excess sebum which further regenerates the acne breakout.
Psychological stress may diminish the healing capacity of the immune system by 40%. Therefore, this only increases the probability that quite a number of acne cases may really be stress-related. Unhealthy diet during stressful conditions may have some effects on the worsening of the acne as well.
Stress does not only aggravate acne flare-up, it considerably affects the over-all health condition of the skin. Stress provokes the adrenal cortex therefore generating a steroid called cortisol. The cortisol may trigger the production of sebum resulting in making the skin extra oily. This is the reason why stressed people have pus-filled papules and inflamed acne rather than the plain whiteheads and blackheads.
A research on the connection between stress and acne was performed in 2002 at Stanford University School of Medicine. In this examination, it was helpful in establishing the fact that stress actually causes the generation of acne on students under stressful conditions. The involved professors concluded that the exam aggravated the acne of the students under observation. It was further concluded that students have a greater chance for the more severe acne conditions during examinations.
A 2003 study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences noted the possibility of chemicals and acne (and other skin diseases) may be closely related. This study focused particularly on the thalamus, a part of the brain which releases a hormone called corticothropin or CRH. During stressful conditions skin oil glands are known to generate both CRH and CRH receptors. Consequently, when CRH receptors combines with excess CRH, it will produce more sebum which in turn may result in exacerbation of the acne.
Not acne but a form of eczema, acne urticata is known to manifest on middle-aged women experiencing depression and stress. It is not yet clear whether the stress resulted to acne or the stress is the resultant of this type of acne.
A German dermatologist, Dr. Jerome Litt, concluded that under stressful situations, the male hormone testosterone and androgens are induced. This belief led him to the generalization that these two hormones may be instrumental to the production of sebum on the skin, therefore a person experiences the onset of acne. He advises acne patients to avoid stress, worry, anxiety and tension as these may trigger the production of acne or worsen the pre-existing condition resulting in acne-causing stress.
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