A mum whose skin became so badly inflamed that doctors said she looked like a burns survivor was convinced she had a severe food allergy – until she found the real trigger was stress.
Christy Gammel, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, spent four years battling agonising flare-ups that left her skin cracked, weeping and infected, forcing her to take antibiotics and prescription creams while desperately searching for answers.
The 36-year-old eventually realised her body wasn’t betraying her – it was warning her.
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At first, she believed it was due to something in her diet, with the mum-of-two trying ‘elimination’ techniques – cutting out gluten, dairy and trying a low histamine diet for a few months, in favour of ingredients believed to have anti-inflammatory effects and healthy whole foods.
She was shocked to discover the common truth behind her ravaged skin.
“I still remember my dermatologist looking at my hands and telling me they looked like those of a burns victim,” she told Need To Know.
“Hearing those words was devastating and brought on a lot of anxiety.
“Even the simplest things – washing my hands, getting dressed and hugging my boys – hurt.
“When I first sought answers for my skin, my dermatologist believed it was likely something I was coming into contact with.
“I thought I had developed a food allergy or was reacting to something I was touching.
“I became incredibly anxious around food and everyday products, constantly trying to figure out what was triggering it.
“I felt like I was constantly living in fear of the next flare-up.”
Allergy tests came back clear, leaving Christy obsessed with playing detective to find out what was behind the skin changes.
Things worsened as her skin developed infections and her hands were so raw that she had to rush to hospital – but no treatment seemed to work.
She said: “The symptoms began with small blisters underneath my skin and turned into much more.
“My face became inflamed, itchy, painful, and unpredictable.
“The reaction had spread across my face, hands, forearms, and legs.
“At its worst, it became infected multiple times, requiring rounds of antibiotics, prescription creams, and constant treatment just to get it under control.
Pictured: Christy’s skin.
‘Doctors said I looked like a burns victim after my skin was ravaged from what I thought was a food allergy – but it was just common stress’
A mum whose skin became so badly inflamed tha
“When the skin on my hands became completely raw and open, I had to go to the emergency room because it was so painful.
“I saw specialists, had allergy testing, tried countless products and treatments – but everything either came back normal or only helped temporarily.”
Convinced something she was eating was to blame, Christy became terrified of everyday life.
She said: “I became consumed with trying to find answers.
“I avoided photos, lost so much confidence, and my mental health suffered.
“There were moments where I didn’t recognise myself anymore.
“I cancelled plans, including New Year’s and Christmas parties, because I didn’t feel comfortable showing up.
“I even went camping wrapped in bandages because I was so embarrassed, uncomfortable and desperate to protect my skin.
“The hardest part wasn’t the physical pain.
“It was the emotional weight of feeling like I was the only person going through it.”
It wasn’t until her face also became badly infected following a family event that Chrissy noticed a pattern.
She said: “I realised my biggest flare-ups almost always happened during periods of intense stress.
“One day, I had a huge family event that pushed my body straight into fight-or-flight mode.
“At the time, I didn’t realize what was happening.
“But looking back, it felt like my body held everything together through the panic, and once I finally came out of that heightened state, it reacted.
“It took years of self-reflection, research and learning to understand that my skin wasn’t just reacting to what I was putting on it.
“My body was responding to what I had been carrying.
“That was the moment I decided I had to take matters into my own hands and start looking at healing from a much deeper perspective.”
Chrissy dived into wellbeing practices to help calm her nervous system.
She said: “I started working on calming my nervous system through practices like yoga, lymphatic drainage treatments, movement, and creating more moments of peace in my daily life.
“I also had to make some really difficult changes in my environment.
“I eased up my schedule, prioritised rest, focused on healthier routines, reduced alcohol, spent more time outdoors and ultimately made the difficult decision to leave a stressful job that was contributing to my constant state of overwhelm.
“Healing became my full-time job.
“The biggest shift was that I stopped looking for overnight results and started paying attention to the small signs of progress.
“Little by little, my skin began improving, my flare-ups became less frequent, and I started feeling more in control of my health.
“Looking back, I realised healing was happening long before I could see the full transformation.”
Despite still suffering from the occasional flare-up, Christy, who believes stress was the main cause of her condition but admits doctors have never confirmed this, says her journey towards a more peaceful life is proving fruitful.
She added: “I still have the occasional flare-up because I’m human and stress still exists, but the difference now is that I understand my body better.
“I recognise the signs, I know when I’ve pushed myself too far, and I’ve learned how to listen instead of ignoring what my body is trying to tell me.
“I haven’t needed to see a dermatologist for my skin concerns in many months but that doesn’t mean the journey is ‘finished’.
“The biggest transformation wasn’t just my skin – it was rebuilding trust with my body.
“For years, I felt like my body was betraying me.
I had spent so long pushing through hard things mentally, thinking I could just keep going, but I learned that your body has its own limits.
“It keeps track of what your mind tries to ignore.”
