Can Recurring Infections Be a Sign of Stress?

 

Lately, I’ve been asking myself a question that feels both medical and deeply personal: can recurring infections be a sign of stress?

My brother has been dealing with repeated eye infections—four in the same eye in just one month. This is despite diligent care. He has dry eyes and receives eye drops six or more times a day. We are attentive. We follow instructions. And still, the infections keep returning.

At the same time, my body is telling its own story. I’m dealing with yet another scalp infection. On paper, these things might look unrelated. In real life, they feel connected.

The Body Speaks What the Mouth Does Not

My brother now lives in the basement of our home, in what is truly a beautiful apartment. It’s safe, comfortable, and thoughtfully set up. But everything around us has changed. For the next two months, strangers are renting the space upstairs. He sees that I’m struggling, but he doesn’t talk about it. He doesn’t talk about the changes in our lives at all.

He wants to go to Jamaica—and on the surface, that sounds like a gift. A break. Rest. But when I sit with it honestly, it doesn’t feel like rest for me. It feels like hiding again. Like running instead of healing.

And just when I consider leaving, something else breaks.

• This week: the water heater.

• Last week: electrical issues and the fireplace.

Each new issue gives me pause. Each one feels like a reminder that I’m needed here, grounded here, unable to exhale.

Stress Is Not Just Mental—It’s Physical

We often think of stress as worry, anxiety, or overwhelm. But stress doesn’t stay politely in the mind. It moves through the body.

Chronic stress can:

• Suppress immune function

• Increase inflammation

• Slow healing

• Exacerbate existing conditions (like dry eyes or skin disorders)

When the nervous system stays in a constant state of alert—always bracing, always adapting—the body becomes more vulnerable. Infections can take hold more easily. Healing can take longer. Symptoms can recur without a clear external cause.

Sometimes the body is saying what the heart cannot afford to say out loud yet: this is too much.

Caregiving, Change, and Silent Grief

Caregivers often carry stress quietly. We normalize it. We push through. We problem-solve endlessly. We rarely stop long enough to ask what the cost is—to ourselves or to those we care for.

My brother may not speak about the changes, but his body might be responding to them. And mine certainly is.

I’m learning that not everything is a coincidence. Not every symptom is random. Stress manifests itself in many different ways—sometimes subtly, sometimes loudly, and sometimes through the parts of us that are already most vulnerable.

A Gentle Reflection

This isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness.

If you’re noticing recurring infections, unexplained symptoms, or health issues that don’t resolve despite doing “everything right,” it may be worth asking not just what am I treating?—but what am I carrying?

The body keeps score.
And sometimes, healing begins not with another treatment—but with truth, rest, and permission to slow down.

If you’re a caregiver, a survivor of prolonged stress, or someone navigating major life transitions, you’re not imagining the connection. Your experience is valid. And your body deserves compassion too.