We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here's our process. Most people experience a degree of stress as part of their daily life. The development of rashes on the skin is a common physical symptom of stress that can occur in us all. In isolation, mild forms of stress have little impact on the body. However, frequent or chronic exposure to stress can trigger adverse side effects. In this article, we discuss the causes of stress rashes. We also explore how these are identified, treated, and prevented. While often thought of as psychological, stress has physical manifestations as well. One of the places where stress may have an impact is on a person's skin. Stress can affect the skin in a number of ways. Hives caused by stress Share on Pinterest Stress can play a big or small part in peoples daily lives, but it may also manifest in physical ways as well. Stress can trigger an outbreak of hives that can make up a stress rash.
Urticaria, or hives, is a common type of rash characterized by the formation of raised, red, itchy bumps on the skin. The cause and severity of hives can vary from one person to the next. While urticaria is commonly associated with an allergy to food, medications, and other irritants, it can also have non-allergic causes such as stress, infection, autoimmune disease, and even food poisoning. Other cases are idiopathic, meaning that the cause is unknown. Urticaria can strike anyone irrespective of age, gender, and race. It is estimated that between 15 percent and 23 percent of the adults will experience at least one bout of urticaria in their lifetime. © Verywell, 2018 Allergic Allergy is the primary cause of urticaria. It is caused when the immune system responds abnormally to an otherwise harmless substance and floods the body with an inflammatory chemical known as histamine. While the release of histamine can often trigger allergic rhinitis and other respiratory or gastric symptoms, there are others times when it will cause capillaries to swell excessively and release interstitial fluid into surrounding tissues.