Oct 6, 2009 2:31 pm US/Central
Study: Allergies Intensify Under Stress
BOSTON (CBS) ―
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Researchers set out to show what happens to hay fever sufferers under stress. (File)
CBS
Allergies and anxiety-- what does one have to do with the other? A lot, according to a study from Ohio State. Researchers set out to show what happens to hay fever sufferers under stress, CBS station WBZ-TV reported.
Benjamin Norman knows all about stress. "I'm a single father raising a teenage boy."
And to add to his anxiety, his allergies leave him suffering year round.
"I'm clogged up, wheezing, runny nose, eyes watering, so that's, it's pretty extreme," Norman said.
Researchers exposed patients to allergens under a set of parameters.
"To stress these people what we did was bring them into the laboratory and tell them they had five minutes to prepare a speech about why they were the best person for a particular job and then they delivered it to a panel of two or three people," said said clinical psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser.
Researchers compared the size of the wheals -- or hive-like reactions -- before, during and after stress. The size of the wheals didn't change with people who were not stressed.
But, Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser explains, "If people were moderately anxious it was about 75% bigger. If they were really anxious, it was about 200% bigger. It doubled in size."
And, researchers like immunologist Ronald Glaser say the impact can last.
"Stress affects allergies at least two different ways. There's an early event, acute and up to 24 hours or late phase response."
It's well documented that stress impacts the immune system. Researchers now suspect stress causes increased levels of compounds that heighten an allergic response, and the resulting symptoms may be more persistent.
"One of the symptoms will be perhaps runny nose, or symptoms very similar to having a cold so you can treat with typical types of cold medications but you can't use antihistamines, which is typically one of the most effective drugs to use," Dr. Glaser said.
The recommendation: try to decompress so you can stop the sneezing.
Ben says he'll try, but he never thought about the stress connection.
"Everybody deals with stress differently. Some people get ulcers and I've never had ulcers so maybe it's affecting my allergies."
A growing number of experts believe there is a link between stress and allergies and that this will lead to more studies on the subject.
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