Are psoriasis and allergies linked?

If you have psoriasis and allergies, you may have wondered if your allergy flares are making your skin condition worse.

No need to guess: doctors and researchers have found no connection between the two problems. Here, four experts break down both conditions and explain what can cause them.

While psoriasis and allergies both involve your immune system, the causes are not related.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease. That means your body’s immune system mistakenly attacks some of its own healthy cells.

An allergy develops when your immune system reacts severely to something that most people don’t have a problem with, such as pollen, pet dander, or certain foods.

Some people confuse psoriasis with allergies before going to the doctor because both conditions can cause itchy, red skin.

“A lot of people think they have allergic skin problems, and when I see them, they have psoriasis,” says Clifford Bassett, MD, an allergist and immunologist in New York City. “If you suspect it’s one thing, it could be something else.”

So get checked by a dermatologist if your skin is itchy or flaky, he says.

If you have psoriasis, stress may be partly to blame when the disease first appears and when it flares up. Stress can also trigger your allergies.

“When you have an allergic reaction, your body is working hard,” says Nashville dermatologist Julie Pena, MD. “It’s trying to fight something. When your body goes through stressful events, it changes the immune system. We know that stress can cause psoriasis to flare up, [even] the internal stress of what your body is going through.”

Doctors have noticed that the medications used to treat allergies can cause psoriasis to get better or worse, although this doesn’t happen very often.

Sometimes doctors treat allergies with steroids like prednisone, says San Diego-based dermatologist Jeffrey Benabio, MD. “We know that when the prednisone stops, psoriasis can flare up.”

The opposite can also happen.

Some people’s psoriasis reportedly improves once they are treated for their hay fever, says Abby S. Van Voorhees, MD, director of the Psoriasis and Phototherapy Treatment Center at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. “It’s hard to know, was that just a coincidence?”

Also, people taking psoriasis medications that reject the immune system may find they have fewer allergies, “but this hasn’t been proven,” says Pena.

Some doctors say people with psoriasis and allergies can sometimes have flare-ups of both at the same time of year. But they let their patients know that the seasons or the weather, not the health problems themselves, are to blame.

Winter temperatures or dry air can exacerbate some people’s allergies, and that kind of weather can also flare up psoriasis, says Benabio.

Psoriasis cannot aggravate allergies and vice versa. But you can reduce your chances of having a flare of either one if you avoid issues that affect both:

• Relieves stress. It can affect both conditions, says Bassett. At home or at work, try to relax or avoid drama.
• To manage Itchy skin. Psoriasis can flare up where your skin is damaged. If you have hives or an allergic reaction and you scratch that area too much, the damage your nails do can make your psoriasis worse. Try over-the-counter cortisone cream or ask your doctor to prescribe a stronger version.