Memorial Kayseri Hospital Skin and Venereal Diseases Specialist Dr. Çağdaş Koç stated that stress negatively affects many systems in the body and increases aging, especially in the skin.
Stating that stress affects the skin, one of the most kept areas, and increases aging, Çağdaş Koç said, “Stress affects many systems in our body. Most of all, it affects the skin, which is one of the most affected areas. It especially increases aging in the skin. Stress-related adrenaline increases, cortisol increases. Accordingly, skin nutrition and blood supply decrease. Signs of aging are revealed on the skin. Apart from this, it causes dry skin. Hyaluronic acid release decreases, collagen release decreases. It causes drying of the skin and flaking. Apart from that, it causes acne in the sebaceous glands, especially in acne-prone people. It affects our nails very much, there are breakages and peeling on the nails. Stress-related patients play with their nails and break them. Nail deformities are very common. Apart from this, we see hair loss very frequently due to stress. If there is hair loss for more than 2 months, then we do our tests, but it really affects hair loss. There are hair breakers, money money spills are very common and are completely stress-related. When the stress of the patient passes, the hair comes back again,” he said.
“We see an increase in skin diseases”
Prof. Dr. Çağdaş Koç said that dermatological diseases progress with exacerbations during periods of stress and that they observe an increase; “Apart from these, we have our main dermatological diseases. Here we have psoriasis. Psoriasis is characterized by exacerbations especially during stressful and troubled periods. In these periods, we need to strengthen the treatment even more. There is also vitiligo. It is a disease characterized by whitening of the skin. The patient says what happened in one day. Suddenly his face and body turn white. It is a completely stress-induced disease. We see an increase in eczema. Hand, foot eczema and many skin diseases that we call atopic eczema can also increase stress. Another disease is lichen planus and this is a disease characterized by severe itching. This is what we call psychosomatic stress hitting the body. We also see an increase in these skin diseases. We see our acne flare-ups and most of our skin diseases are really triggered by stress.”
Stating that stress affects lifestyle and then a vicious circle is entered, Koç said, “Stress affects our lifestyle. It causes sleep disorders in patients. Alcohol and cigarette use increases and all of these enter a vicious circle. We should protect ourselves from stress as much as possible. We should engage in our hobbies, it is useful to give ourselves to areas that will make us happy. We also have a lot of work with psychiatry. If we really think that there is a stress-oriented rash or exacerbation, we definitely want our patients to see a psychiatrist.”
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