When Stress Gets Under the Skin
Stress activates nerve cells that communicate directly with immune cells.
Posted June 1, 2026 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
The stress of a week does not remain confined to the mind. It moves through the body, shaping physical health in many ways. A recent study reveals one such pathway, tracing how psychological stress can travel along nerves and ignite inflammation in the skin.
Atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema, has long carried a reputation as a stress-sensitive condition. Patients notice that flare-ups often follow periods of emotional strain. The skin becomes red, thickened, and intensely itchy. Doctors have understood this link for years, but the biological steps connecting stress to skin inflammation have remained unclear.
This new study indicates that stress activates a specific group of nerve cells that communicate directly with immune cells in the skin. These nerve cells belong to the sympathetic nervous system , the same system that prepares the body for action during moments of fear or pressure.
When Stress Reaches the Skin
Stress usually brings to mind the brain, the heart, or the stomach. However, the skin also receives stress signals in a highly organized way. People with higher perceived stress had more severe eczema symptoms. They also had more eosinophils, a type of immune cell, in their blood and skin.
Eosinophils can help protect the body in certain settings, but in eczema, they often act like fuel on a fire. They release damaging proteins and inflammatory messages that irritate tissue and increase itching. Once they enter inflamed skin, they can help turn a manageable flare into a more persistent one.
Stress gives these cells both directions and permission. First, nerve signals help guide eosinophils into the skin. Then the same nerve pathway pushes them into a more inflammatory state.
The Nerve Cells Behind the Flare
Some nerve cells connect strongly with hairy skin and sit close to eosinophils during inflammation. When stress activates them, they release signals that attract eosinophils into the affected tissue.
Once the eosinophils arrive, the nerve cells deliver a second message through norepinephrine, one of the body’s main stress chemicals. Eosinophils carry a receptor that responds to this signal. When that receptor becomes active, the cells release inflammatory proteins that worsen skin damage and itching.
The result is a tight feedback loop. Stress activates nerves, nerves recruit immune cells, immune cells worsen the skin, and the worsening skin creates more discomfort, which can feed back into stress.
Turning the Circuit Down
When eosinophils were removed in mice, stress no longer worsened dermatitis-like inflammation. When the specific skin-linked nerve cells were disabled, stress lost much of its ability to intensify the disease. When those nerve cells were artificially activated, inflammation increased even without an external stress trigger.
Blocking the signal that draws eosinophils into the skin also reduces inflammation, as does removing the receptor that lets eosinophils respond to norepinephrine. Future treatments could focus on the communication between nerves and immune cells, rather than only suppressing inflammation after it appears.
This work changes the way stress fits into eczema care. Stress management often gets framed as helpful but secondary, something that supports the “real” medical treatment. However, reducing stress may lower a direct signal that worsens inflammation.
As treatments for eczema become more precise, the next frontier may involve quieting the messages that pass between stress-sensitive nerves and inflammatory cells. The skin may be the place where the flare appears, but the signal can begin much earlier, in the body’s response to pressure, fear, and strain.
Tian, J., Cao, Y., Li, Y., Sun, J., Zhan, C., Ni, W., ... & Liu, S. (2026). A sympathetic-eosinophil axis orchestrates psychological stress to exacerbate skin inflammation. Science , 391 (6791), 1269–1277.
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William A. Haseltine, Ph.D., is known for his pioneering work on cancer, HIV/AIDS, and genomics. He is Chair and President of the global health think tank Access Health International. His recent books include My Lifelong Fight Against Disease.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.