Sometimes feelings of frustration, fear, or concern about having asthma can interfere with living a normal life. While neither the parent nor the child has any power over the fact that the child has the disease, the child has great ability to control the asthma by learning to understand and manage its symptoms. Asthma is not generally caused by one's state of mind, but there is frequently a close relationship between a child's emotional upset and an asthmatic attack. It is evident that nervous and emotional states may precipitate an attack of asthma, and sometimes the first sttack will come at the climax of an emotional crisis. Children can worsen the stress of an attack by such normal emotional expressions as laughing, crying, or yelling.
Hyperventilation can exacerbate asthma.
Parents should point this out to their child, because he or she may be able to moderate this behavior. Of course, if there are serious ongoing emotional problems that seem to aggravate the asthma, counseling for the family may be worthwhile. It is important to remember that a parent's own fears can affect the child, while keeping calm and proceeding with the treatment prescribed will reassure the child that he will soon feel better. Significant consequences of asthma may include fatigue, loss of initiative, lack of self-confidence, and various types of mental suffering. Often, during the course of an asthmatic child's development, problems arise.