Why do I get stress induced hives and how do I treat them?

Medically reviewed by Melissa Guarnaccia
Updated March 19, 2024by BetterHelp Editorial Team

Although some people may know that stress can lead to mental health challenges, it is often lesser known that stress can cause physical symptoms and illness. Some of these symptoms may be familiar, like high blood pressure or headaches. However, other symptoms, like stress-induced hives may be lesser known. Hives can be caused by various mental and physical health challenges. 

Before attributing your symptoms to stress, it can be beneficial to reach out to your primary care provider for guidance and a referral, if needed. If you are experiencing stress-related hives, there are a few ways to treat these at home or with a professional. You’re not alone, and relief may be around the corner.

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Managing feelings of stress is possible

What are hives?

Hives are a type of rash, often in the form of raised bumps that can be centralized on a certain area of your body like stress bumps on fingers or itchy red patches on your arms. They can be smaller in size but may be larger than chicken pox. On some people, hives become enlarged to the size of a plate or cup. These rashes can look like a welt or burn. 

Hives can be caused by many inciting events or stimuli. They are sometimes the result of an allergy, like an allergy to laundry soap or a food you’ve recently tried. In addition, they are often uncomfortable or painful because they can burn, itch, and sting. While they aren't necessarily dangerous on their own, treatment can help the distressing symptoms pass quickly. 

Note: If your face, tongue, lips, or any part of your mouth is swelling along with hives, you are experiencing an allergy reaction. A swelling throat can be life-threatening, so reach out to emergency services immediately and follow up with your doctor.

Does stress cause hives?

Stress on its own can cause hives in some people. However, the reason behind these hives is not completely clear. Some researchers believe hives are a result of the impact that stress has on the immune system, which can include inflammation in the body. However, scientists do not understand the complete connection, and more research is required. 

In some cases, there may be a secondary connection between stress and hives. There are people who experience hives for unknown reasons and experience stress as a result. Stress about hives could be due to fear of physical health challenges or body image difficulties. 

How long do hives last?

There is no set determined amount of time hives may last. They could occur for a day or go on for weeks. In some cases, as some of your hives are disappearing, new ones may begin to show up. Tges can come and go over a long period of time. If you find that they continue to come back or you've been dealing with them consistently for several days, you may want to talk with your doctor.

You may not know how long your hives are going to be around once you get them, but there are things that you can do to prevent them.

How to treat stress-induced hives

The first thing you want to do if you are breaking out in hives is to determine what's causing them. Think back through the last few days. You want to make sure that your hives are not the result of an allergy to something that you have eaten or something else that your body has been exposed to. This could be new foods, changing your shampoo or soap, or wearing a different type of fabric.

Once you have ruled out that your hives have been caused by something related to an allergen, you should look at what other symptoms you are experiencing. If your symptoms are all related to stress, then it's a good chance that your hives are stress induced as well. But, if you have other medical symptoms that you are experiencing, you may want to talk to your doctor instead of trying to self-diagnose yourself.

When you know that you're dealing with stress-induced hives, the following strategies can help you deal with them.

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Treatment of the skin itself

Because hives can be painful and cause itching, burning, and stinging, it can be important to treat the symptoms and not just the underlying cause. Taking an antihistamine can help to lessen the symptoms that you are experiencing quickly. This can help your hives to disappear for the moment – or sometimes for good – if you're not currently under stress anymore. However, it's not a guarantee that they will not come back. 

Antihistamines can help you find relief from burning and itching, but over-the-counter antihistamines should not be the only source of treatment that you use if you have hives on an ongoing basis. Talk to a physician to see if there is another medication that would be more helpful for you or try some of the other forms of treatment as well.

Treatments for stress

If your hives are caused by stress, one of the best ways that you can treat the hives is to treat the main cause. Taking medication to help you with the symptoms of your hives could be helpful in the present moment, but if you want to stop experiencing stress-induced hives, you're going to want to learn how to handle your stress.

There are many different stress treatments that you can use to find relief. Here are some of the most common.

Meditation

The practice of meditation can be effective in helping you handle the stress that you're dealing with in life. Meditation helps you learn how to take control of your thoughts instead of just allowing any anxious thought to be in your mind. It helps you to remove the intense or negative emotions from a situation and focus your mind on learning how to deal with it more effectively.

A part of meditation can include practicing mindfulness which can help you to control your thoughts and to think of positive things that will help you in life. Researchers reviewed 200 studies that showed mindfulness-based therapy to be especially efficient in reducing stress.

Another part of meditation is deep breathing. This can be used while you're meditating or on its own. Deep breathing is a great way to take control of your body when you are under stress and learn how to overcome it. A natural physical response to stress is to take shallow quick breaths. In order to fight that, you can focus on taking deep slow breaths. There are many different strategies that you can use to do this, but the most important thing is just to make sure that you are filling your lungs and diaphragm with air when you breathe in, holding it for at least a second, and then slowly letting the air out completely.

If you're interested in practicing meditation, mindfulness, or deep breathing, there are many apps that you can choose from to help you work through the process. Professional counselors, such as through BetterHelp, can also guide you in how to do these and other stress-relieving exercises. 

Journaling

Journaling can be an effective way to handle stress as well. It can provide you with a safe place to release any stressful thoughts that you are experiencing. It can be helpful to get all your thoughts on a situation out onto paper. This can help you to process your emotions that you're experiencing if you're struggling with them. Journaling can also help you to identify any patterns in your life or triggers of stress that you have.

Self-care

Self-care is beneficial to you in many ways. Making sure that you eat right, get enough sleep, and exercise is all good for your mental and physical health. If you are experiencing high levels of stress, practicing good self-care may not be the first thing on your mind, but it is important to practice. It can help you to find relief from your stress and learn how to manage your symptoms from it better.

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Managing feelings of stress is possible

Online therapy for stress

Everyone's going to experience stress in life but that does not mean that you must struggle through it. If you are dealing with stress to the point that it’s causing hives or other physical symptoms, don't be afraid to reach out for professional help from an experienced therapist. Therapy, including online therapy, can be an effective way to learn how to manage your stress and cope with the symptoms that you're experiencing. You can also learn changes that you can make in life to eliminate some sources of stress and to make life easier going forward.

One of the most effective forms of therapy for stress, anxiety, and depression is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which can be effectively conducted with an online therapist. In fact, researchers have determined that online-based CBT – such as through BetterHelp – is usually as effective as in-person therapy, without adding the stress of having to travel to a therapy session each week. Remote CBT therapy has been found to effectively reduce stress levels. CBT has even been found to reduce physical symptoms, such as chronic pain and back pain. Contact BetterHelp to get started.

Takeaway

Stress may be a normal part of life, but it's not something that should overwhelm you. If that's how you're feeling, or if it’s affecting you physically, then it's important to get professional help to address your stressors and learn how to manage them in a healthy way. The symptoms of stress, including stress-induced hives, do not need to be an ongoing part of your life.
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