Allergies due to nerves: symptoms and treatment, can it happen in a child, in adults, how to treat, from nerves, due to stress, on the skin, can it worsen

Causes

Nervous allergies are more common in women than in men, which is explained by greater exposure to stressful situations that negatively affect the performance of the entire body.

It is possible that a child will develop a nervous allergy. Children, due to their fragile psyche, experience stress more acutely. They often occur in children during a period of hormonal changes or against the background of strong pressure from an adult.

Physical overload also causes the development of the disease.

The likelihood of developing a nerve allergy increases under the following circumstances:

failure of the immune system;
genetic predisposition;
intense, prolonged stress;
chronic fatigue;
depressive state.

Under the influence of factors that cause mental disorders, the production of histamine in the human body increases. This substance leads to the formation of skin rashes and other manifestations of abnormal reactions of the body. However, in case of a nervous disorder, blood tests cannot detect an increase in the concentration of immunoglobulin E.

Under the influence of stress, the body's resistance to irritants decreases. Thus, food, pollen, animal dander and other allergens, which previously did not cause negative reactions, provoke the appearance of symptoms during nervous overstrain. In some cases, signs of illness appear even after thinking about the irritant.

Scheme of disease manifestation

Nervous allergies in their manifestations are practically no different from the body’s true reaction to an allergen.

Most often, the symptoms of the disease are reflected in the condition of the skin; you can pay attention to:

RASHES. These may be red spots or a pinpoint rash. Its localization is the scalp, cheeks, forehead, arms, neck, upper half of the chest, and it is possible that it can affect other parts of the body.
APPEARANCE OF HURTICS. Blisters of various sizes rising on the skin form literally within a few hours and minutes.
ITCHING Skin irritation is accompanied by the appearance of rashes. Itching on the skin may be the only manifestation of a nervous allergy.

Under the influence of psycho-emotional stress, eczema develops, which is characterized by a chronic course. The disease worsens every time after nervous strain, quarrels with loved ones, or anxiety.

READ ON THE TOPIC: How allergies manifest themselves on the face.

In addition to skin changes, nervous allergies cause:

Runny nose. Rhinitis is manifested by copious mucus secretion and sneezing.
Excessive sweating or unmotivated lacrimation.
Attack of suffocation. In some patients, the development of bronchial asthma and more frequent attacks are associated precisely with nervous overstrain.
Digestive disorder. Frequent loose stools are one of the manifestations of pseudo-allergy; in addition to this, a person may be bothered by colic, bloating, nausea and the urge to vomit.
The appearance of a cough. A nervous cough cannot be eliminated by taking antitussive medications and is more common in young children.

In addition to the main manifestations, the disease is accompanied by additional changes in well-being.

By carefully questioning the patient, you can find out what periodically worries him:

Rapid fatigue;
Excessive irritation and aggressiveness in some situations;
Sleep disturbances and at the same time increased drowsiness;
Muscle pain, neuralgia, migraine;
Blurred vision.

Periods of poor health are replaced by normal functioning of the body.

But against the background of psycho-emotional changes, an allergic reaction to any type of food, medicine, or chemical substances may occur.

Many diseases come from the head, so nervous allergies are not uncommon. Scientists have proven that pseudo-allergies actually exist. The main symptom is the presence of a rash in the absence of an irritant.

During times of stress, overexertion, and depression, the body begins to produce histamine. This substance appears in the blood when a person’s health or life is threatened due to a possible or non-existent factor. As a result of the tests, no increase in immunoglobulin E or a positive allergy test is detected. In this case, a diagnosis of “pseudoallergy” is made.

Unexpected emotional shock is one of the causes of illness.

Against the background of stress hormones, the body weakens. A harmless product that has not previously caused allergies can cause a rash. At the very peak of the disease, the test for this product becomes positive, and after a few days, when the symptoms of the disease disappear, it will be negative. Continued use will not cause a reaction.

To make a diagnosis, the doctor examines the patient’s nervous condition. As a rule, the patient is quick-tempered, easily vulnerable, abrupt in movements and in mood swings. For some, symptoms of the disease appear suddenly upon contact or even thinking about a possible allergen.

Example: a person has pseudo-allergy. He thinks he has kiwi intolerance. The eaten piece of cake contained a “prohibited product.” But the patient found out about this 15 minutes after eating. Within a minute of realizing that he has eaten a kiwi, he develops allergic symptoms: rash, itching and runny nose.

The example clearly shows how the functioning of the brain affects the state of the body. A person sets himself up for illness, and it appears. People with an unstable emotional state are susceptible to such self-hypnosis.

In the case described above, the doctor can diagnose nerve allergies by talking frankly with the patient and asking him about the details of the disease.

In addition to psychological work, the allergist takes tests:

allergy tests for all potential allergens;
blood test for immunoglobulin E levels.

If the results of both tests are negative, the doctor immediately makes a diagnosis. If at least one of the allergy tests is positive, a repeat test is ordered in a few days. If a person is under nervous tension, which will pass the next day or a little later, the allergy test will become negative and the diagnosis will be obvious.

The allergist must take allergy tests from the patient for all potential allergens and a blood test.
Treatment of the disease involves the use of medications that improve the functioning of the nervous system.

They eliminate unpleasant symptoms by blocking the production of histamine.

The main methods of treating nerve allergies include:

taking sedatives;
the use of herbal decoctions with a sedative effect;
visiting a psychologist;
minimizing psychological and physical stress;
change of living conditions;
change of place of work.

The main task of the patient is to work on himself. To prevent the brain from giving signals for the appearance of allergies, the patient should think about all the processes occurring in thoughts. A full awareness of the cause and minimizing any stress on the body will help you quickly get rid of the disease.

Signs of allergies

When allergies are caused by nerves, the following symptoms appear:

Itchy rash. Appear on the face and other parts of the body.
Nervous urticaria. Large blisters form on the skin, rising to the surface.
Increased sweating, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath.
Feeling of lack of air. This symptom of an allergy from nerves poses a threat to the patient’s life.

Rashes with pseudoallergy (idiopathic allergy with an unknown cause) are sometimes localized in the oral cavity, which is perceived as a sign of stomatitis. The likelihood of symptoms of such a reaction does not depend on external factors. For example, a runny nose may appear even in dry weather, and a cough may persist after taking medications.

Symptoms of pseudoallergy are manifested by the following phenomena:

nausea;
active lacrimation;
vomit;
stool disorder;
paleness of the skin;
chills or fever;
discomfort in the chest area.

Nervous allergies negatively affect the general condition of the body, which is explained by the influence of stress on the central nervous system and causes:

increased irritability;
drowsiness;
prostration;
frequent mood changes;
depression;
headache;
decreased concentration;
decreased visual acuity;
dizziness, which is rarely combined with fainting.

A pronounced allergy symptom is a sudden onset. In a number of sources, such disorders are referred to as a “vegetative storm,” in which four or more physiological symptoms appear simultaneously on the body.

Features of the treatment of allergies due to nerves

Before treating nervous allergies, it is necessary to determine what is the source of the mental disorder and try to solve the problem. This may require changing your social circle, job, or talking with the conflicting party and finding a common compromise. The golden rule is the expression: “If you can’t change the situation, change your attitude towards it.”

There are several methods to stabilize the psycho-emotional state and get rid of neuroses:

Regular and high-quality relaxation - meditation, yoga classes or relaxation massage sessions can help with this.
Consultations with a neurologist or psychotherapist.
Taking antihistamines to help eliminate the symptoms of the disease: Claritin, Diazolin, Suprastin. Also, plant-based products: valerian or motherwort help harmonize the emotional background.
Carrying out cold inhalations with essential oils, sage, lavender, jasmine or sandalwood work well.
Playing sports, swimming in the pool, and physical exercise help strengthen the nervous and immune systems and distract from obsessive states.
The use of baths with a collection of herbs with a calming effect.
Acupressure and acupuncture sessions.

ethnoscience

Infusions of medicinal herbs will help put your nerves in order.
Alternative medicine methods help to cope with negative emotions and eliminate nervous tension; for this you need:

Dilute 1 tbsp. l bite in 1 tbsp. l of water, dip a cotton pad into the resulting solution and treat the damaged areas of the body.
Mix water with tomato juice in a concentration of 1:2, moisten a piece of cloth in the prepared product and wipe the rashes on the skin.
Mix the collection of oak bark, chamomile and string in equal quantities, pour 3 tbsp. l mixture with 1 glass of hot boiled water, leave for 12 hours, then strain. Add herbal decoction to the bath in a ratio of 1:10.
Pour 10 g. flax seeds 3 l. water, put the pan on gas and simmer in a water bath for 10 minutes. Pour the prepared infusion into a warm bath.

Establishing diagnosis

It is quite difficult to determine whether an allergy arises from nerves.

To make a diagnosis, the doctor excludes the influence of other factors that cause skin rash and itching. For these purposes, allergy tests and blood tests for the concentration of immunoglobulin E are performed.

Psychological work with the patient provides important information to the doctor. With allergies, people behave inappropriately due to nerves: their mood changes quickly, they are characterized by sudden movements and aggressiveness.

Diagnosis of the disease

Considering the underlying cause of the disease, it is necessary to contact a psychotherapist to prescribe treatment. However, in order to determine whether an allergic reaction is real (the body's response to exposure to an allergen) or has a psychological origin, you will need to undergo examination by an allergist-immunologist.

As a diagnostic to determine the root cause of the disease, you will have to pass:

general analysis of urine and feces;
clinical and biochemical blood tests;
analysis for antibodies to hepatitis of viral origin;
analysis for sexually transmitted diseases (in particular, syphilis);
blood test for nuclear factor;
analysis for antibodies to protozoan parasites (giardia, toxoplasmosis, etc.);
allergy tests for the most common allergens.

Medicinal treatments

Since nerve-related allergies need to be treated comprehensively, doctors prescribe the following medications at the same time:

Antihistamines (“Suprastin”, “Tavegil”). They are selected individually based on the characteristics of the body. If a nervous allergy causes severe consequences, it is recommended to use antihistamines in the form of injection solutions.
Antipruritic ointments and gels (“Gistan”, “Solcoseryl”). They are used to relieve symptoms and treat skin manifestations of nervous allergies in adults.
Enterosorbents (activated carbon, Polysorb). Prescribed to remove decay products from the body.
Isotonic solutions. Recommended for eliminating a runny nose; vasoconstrictor drops are not used.
Means for normalizing intestinal microflora (Linex, Normobakt). Prescribed to strengthen the immune system and eliminate digestive disorders.

If a pseudo-allergy causes coughing attacks, it is recommended not only to take the prescribed medications, but also to regularly humidify the air and ventilate the room.

One of the main conditions for cure is the normalization of the nervous system. To do this, the patient is prescribed sedatives (usually from herbal ingredients). It is also necessary to protect yourself from stressful situations.

Diagnosis and treatment

Usually, when symptoms of an allergic reaction appear, a person consults an allergist.

The doctor must carefully examine and interview his patient, because the correct diagnosis largely depends on this.

The doctor can assume the development of an allergy due to nerves by describing to the patient the situation in which the development of symptoms began.

The behavior of the patient is also of a certain importance; most often, nervous allergies occur in emotional people who, when talking, actively use their facial expressions, hand movements, and are constantly worried about their health.

The doctor may find out that the allergy did not even arise from contact with an allergen, but from the fact that the patient assumed the influence of a factor provoking his illness.

That is, nervous allergies often arise from a person’s fear of getting sick.

But a single examination and interview is not enough to make a diagnosis. Therefore, a number of tests are prescribed:

Tests are required to determine whether the body has a specific reaction to the suspected allergens. In people with nerve-related allergies, at the peak of symptoms, a positive result is possible. After you feel normal, tests will give negative results.
Determination of immunoglobulin E; in case of nervous allergies, its level will be normal.

As a diagnostic to determine the root cause of the disease, you will have to pass:

general analysis of urine and feces;
clinical and biochemical blood tests;
analysis for antibodies to hepatitis of viral origin;
analysis for sexually transmitted diseases (in particular, syphilis);
blood test for nuclear factor;
analysis for antibodies to protozoan parasites (giardia, toxoplasmosis, etc.);
allergy tests for the most common allergens.

Also, assessing the level of immunoglobulin E in the blood can help identify the cause. With ordinary (typical) allergies, this level is usually elevated, but with a nervous allergic reaction, it remains normal.

Usually, with such a reaction of the body, the patient turns to an allergist. If immunoglobulin tests are negative, this is not a reason to refuse treatment to a person.

If you suspect an allergy of an emotional nature, consult a psychologist or psychiatrist. People with increased excitability are most often susceptible to false allergies. Such personalities are easily identified by an experienced doctor by a sharp change in mood, emotional speech accompanied by pronounced facial expressions. Suspiciousness is not an unimportant factor in making a diagnosis.

A peculiarity of conducting skin tests with a substance to which an allergic reaction is suspected will be the dependence of the results on the emotional state of the patient. For example, a patient assumes the development of an allergy to coffee, a test in a calm environment will be negative, but with psycho-emotional stress it will be positive.

If the disease is of a nervous nature, the determination of immunoglobulin E is not effective and does not go beyond the norm. This will increase histamine levels.

Once the diagnosis is made, treatment is prescribed.

An allergy is a specific reaction of the human body to certain substances. Allergens can be food, medications, pollen, etc.

With the development of an allergy to the nervous system at the time of stress in the human body, the number of inflammatory mediators increases. At the same time, histamine levels increase significantly.

All of these factors cause the triggering of a pseudo-allergic reaction. In this case, the allergen is absent, but symptoms of the disease appear.

The main difference between nervous allergies are skin symptoms, which are quite pronounced. They can appear in the form of a small rash, redness, blisters, and peeling.

At the same time, people often do not notice the connection between stress and the cause of allergic reactions, since they appear upon contact with various substances. In any case, such symptoms should be a reason to visit a doctor, who will determine the reasons for their occurrence.

Diagnosis will be somewhat different from examination for ordinary allergies. If the doctor has an assumption that the symptoms of an allergic reaction have developed due to nervousness, he will try to pay more attention to the emotional state of the patient.

In this case, laboratory tests are pointless, because the level of immunoglobulin in the blood serum will not exceed normal limits. It is advisable to undergo allergy tests, as in the photo above, but this must be done at a time when the person is nervous. Then a positive reaction may occur to several allergens at once, contact with which is not recommended in the near future.

As for treatment, the first step is to stabilize the patient’s emotional state. For this purpose, consultations with a psychologist may be prescribed, medications - sedatives that will help you calm down, not react so sharply to stressful situations, and improve sleep. The most common and effective remedy is valerian tincture, you can see it in the photo below.

After you start taking the prescribed medications, all symptoms will disappear. But at the time of treatment, it is still better to adhere to a certain diet so as not to provoke an exacerbation of allergies. Then you can gradually return to your usual diet and lifestyle.

As for antihistamines, their use is unjustified, therefore, for allergies that appear due to nervousness, such medications are not used.

Other treatments

Treatment requires the participation of specialized doctors: psychologist, neurologist. If necessary, the patient is sent to a chiropractor. The assistance of highly specialized doctors in the treatment of nervous allergies in children is relevant. To fully restore the patient, it is necessary to identify and get rid of the main cause of such a reaction: resolve family or internal conflicts, strengthen self-esteem, etc. This stage may require several months or even years.

Nerve allergies are also treated using physical therapy techniques. As a last resort, hypnosis is indicated. A good effect is demonstrated by massage, which has a relaxing effect on the nervous system.

If necessary, the doctor recommends that the patient change his place of residence or work if they cause stress.

Types of nerve rash

Nervous allergy is a hypersensitive reaction in the absence of the allergen itself. The inflammatory reaction develops due to irritation of nerve endings - sensitive receptors. At the same time, the same substances as in allergies are released into the surrounding tissues and cause similar changes: itching, swelling, rash and redness. This process is involved in the formation of symptoms of skin diseases (eczema and psoriasis), as well as asthma, migraines, and vasomotor rhinitis.

Urticaria is a disease in which there is redness of the skin, itching and a characteristic rash in the form of irregularly shaped tubercles that can merge with each other. Such changes are provoked by contact with an allergen, exposure to cold, sun, pressure on the skin, as well as emotional stress. Nervous urticaria is quite rare and usually goes away once the stressor is removed. Treatment uses sedatives, as well as drugs that affect the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.

Nervous scabies, or neurogenic itch, is a condition that forms in the brain, while the skin is not affected by the disease. Itching can originate from the brain, or from peripheral nerves and receptors. Central neurogenic includes, for example, a feeling of itching in the amputated limb. The nerves may be pinched by a tight muscle or misaligned bone, causing itching. With shingles, there may also be itching in the area of the affected nerve. In the treatment of nervous scabies, glucocorticoids and antihistamines are ineffective. In case of nerve damage, local anesthetics and capsaicin (a red pepper alkaloid that affects pain receptors) help. If the cause is in the brain, medications are prescribed that act on the pain processing centers in the central nervous system. These are pregabalin and gabapentin.

Possible consequences

The frequent occurrence of stress allergies increases the likelihood of a secondary infection due to scratching itchy areas on the body. Therefore, you should not touch the affected areas. Problems mainly arise due to exposure to a stressful situation, leading to the development of neurological and mental disorders, diseases that caused the disorder.

An allergic reaction in such situations only increases the load on the central nervous system, thereby accelerating the development of complications. Only a doctor can determine what to do with such manifestations of the body.

Manifestations of allergies

The symptoms of allergies caused by stress are in many ways similar to pathologies of other etiologies. One characteristic feature is that when the emotional background stabilizes, the symptoms smooth out or disappear completely.

Urticaria is a small rash accompanied by intense itching that gets worse at night. The location can be any part of the body; over time, individual elements merge into large hyperemic spots. When scratching, small wounds can form on the skin, which fester and turn into a weeping form.
Long-term allergies cause eczema, which cannot be quickly treated and is prone to relapse.
Allergic rhinitis is profuse, clear mucus discharge from the nose, causing swelling of the nasal mucosa. The function of nasal breathing is impaired, which leads to discomfort and mild oxygen starvation of the brain. As a result, headaches and a feeling of rapid fatigue occur.
A dry, hacking cough is a characteristic sign of a reaction to stress. The cough reflex can be so strong that it causes an attack of suffocation in the patient. Without proper therapy, cough can cause the development of allergic bronchial asthma.
The gastrointestinal tract reacts to allergens in the form of abdominal pain, loose stools and bloating. Dyspeptic disorders are more common in childhood.
Tremors in the body, tremor of the limbs, tachycardia, increased sweating are signs of the nervous system reacting to an irritant.
The person becomes irritable, quickly tired, drowsy, apathy and a significant weakening of concentration are observed.

Severe nervous shock can cause a condition called “allergic vegetative storm” in people prone to allergies. A sharp deterioration in the condition with characteristic signs of collapse can lead to loss of consciousness. At this moment, the person needs help to prevent irreversible consequences.

Is prevention effective?

Allergies appear for various reasons. For the disease to appear, contact with a potential allergen is sufficient, so to prevent a nervous allergic reaction you should:

limit the impact of stressful situations;
maintain a daily routine, setting aside time for sleep and rest;
adhere to the principles of a healthy lifestyle;
Treat concomitant diseases;
increase intake of foods that contain B vitamins;
attend massage sessions annually;
walk in the fresh air every day.

People who often face stressful situations need to regularly drink calming teas and do yoga. These recommendations are especially relevant for people with unstable mental health.

Difference from true allergy

Experts classify allergic manifestations of various types in response to stressful situations as pseudo-allergy. The main difference between pseudoallergy and a true disease is that for the development of the latter, the presence of an allergen is necessary, while the former can develop without it.

Particularly sensitive people may develop an allergic reaction even at the mere sight of a potential allergen. Also, nervous eczema and other skin rashes can appear as a result of a large accumulation of neurotransmitters in the body that irritate epidermal cells.