Dr. Richard Eisen

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With the holidays over, the bills rolling in and a bleak economic forecast for 2009, stress levels are running high.

Although you may believe you’ve hidden your stress well, signs of stress can be exhibited in your skin.

According to Dr. Richard Eisen, a dermatologist at South Shore Skin Center, “Stress affects your hormones, elevating Cortisol levels which increase oil levels in your skin. Stress will aggravate skin conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis. Yet, it can also affect your nails and cause your hair to fall out.”

There are two kinds of stress. Emotional stress pertains to the stress that goes along with stock market losses; the loss of a job or the loss of a loved one. Physical stress pertains to stress on the body due to pregnancy, illness or an operation. Both types of stress can affect your skin, nails and hair.

Dr. Eisen, along with dermatologist Dr. Ramzi Saad of South Shore Skin Center provide insight on how stress affects the skin:

For those who are prone to acne, the elevated levels of Cortisol will lead to increase in acne outbreaks. With more outbreaks, people are less confident and often have lower self esteem. This creates a negative feedback loop as they become stressed about their acne as well as everything else.

In extreme forms of stress and emotional upheaval, some people with acne try to reduce their acne by picking and scratching at it. This is actually a condition called acne excoriée. The picking and scratching of acne can lead to infection and scarring. In this case, it’s important that the person with acne excoriée see a dermatologist for treatment.

Other skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and itching are worsened by stress and breakouts will be more severe and more frequent. When a person is stressed, s/he has less of a threshold of pain for the itching and scratches even more. Yet, even those who don’t have a skin condition, may scratch when they are under stress. Some people become itchy and scratch so much that they leave sores. This is a concern if it is ongoing, and should be evaluated.

Some people who are stressed will pick at their cuticles which damages the nail matrix and leads to ridges in the nails. Picking at the cuticles is known as a “habit tic”. It causes damage to the growing part of nail, resulting in ridges in the nail that may take up to a year to grow out. If a stressed person keeps picking at her/his cuticles, s/he will end up with permanent nail changes, and ridges, that can’t be reversed.

Stress will also show in your face. From dark circles under the eyes to frowning and furrowing of the brow. More sleep will help to remedy the dark circles, but frowning and brow furrowing can lead to deep lines which are more noticeable. Botox can relax the muscle used to frown and furrow the brow and stop the manifestation of stress.

Under severe emotional stress such as the loss of job, the hormonal changes ensued can affect the hair cycle. When the hair cycle is affected, more hair will be in the “resting phase” as opposed to the “growing phase”. Typically 10-15 percent of hair is in the resting phase normally, which means 50-100 hairs per day will be shed without shampooing and 100-150 hairs will be shed with shampooing.

Both emotional stress and physical stress (from pregnancy) will cause more hair to be in the resting phase, which is a condition called “telogen effluvium”. When there is an excess of resting hairs, the stressed person will lose a noticeable amount (sometimes in clumps) of 200 or more hairs per day. Typically, the stress cycle is six months long before the stressed person will begin to see hair growing back.

Drs. Eisen and Saad offer several tips to help combat stress exhibited in the skin:

· Try to eat well. Don’t skip meals or skimp on nutritious foods. Poor diet will only increase symptoms of stress.

· Try to get enough sleep.

· Try to exercise on a regular basis, at least three times a week. A brisk 20 to 30 minute walk can be beneficial and doesn’t require special equipment or a gym membership.

“Individuals who are experiencing more frequent acne outbreaks, acne excoriée or who have eczema, psoriasis or another skin concern should consult their dermatologist for treatment,” noted Dr. Saad.

To learn more about Dr. Eisen and the South Shore Skin Center practice, visit southshoreskincenter.com.

South Shore Skin Center

Founded in 1984, South Shore Skin Center is one of Massachusetts’ most progressive dermatology practices offering a wide range of medical, surgical and cosmetic services.

South Shore Skin Center’s cosmetic services include Fraxel re:pair and re:store; Gentle YAG, innovative Laser, IPL (Intensive Pulse Light), Thermage and treatments for age spots, acne scarring, birth marks, tattoos and more. The practice also offers a full range of affordable anti-aging services including Botox, wrinkle fillers, Microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing and chemical peels.

South Shore Skin Center offices are located at 223 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Suite 202 in Cohasset, Mass. (781) 383-3340, and 45 Resnik Road, Suite 102 in Plymouth, Mass., (508) 747-0711. For more information, visit their website at www.southshoreskincenter.com.

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