Psychological treatment of asthma in children

  There are many causes of asthma in children, such as respiratory infections caused by viruses and mycoplasma, weather changes, excessive exercise and fatigue, but did you know that many children’s asthma is triggered by adverse psychological factors? Therefore, from this point of view, the disease is also a psychological disease. Some children have asthma attacks when they watch thrilling movies or TV scenes, or when they solve complicated mathematical problems, and others have asthma attacks when they are suddenly scolded by their parents (especially their mothers) for being overly spoiled. The parents’ anxiety and depression can also affect the child and induce an asthma attack.  I have a patient whose mother is a particularly nervous person, and since her child’s asthma attacks were frequent before he received standardized treatment, his mother was like a bird of prey, bringing me immediately to the child’s cough after his regular medication, asking me in front of him, “Dr. Yu, is it wheezing? Are you wheezing?” Finally, after four months of standardized treatment, the child had another asthma attack. This attack was not unrelated to his mother’s extreme anxiety.  Therefore, parents must not neglect the role of psychotherapy in addition to the necessary medication for their children. Parents should maintain a good and calm state of mind to avoid anxiety affecting the child; they should explain patiently so that the child can establish confidence in overcoming the disease; they should also create a harmonious family environment and let the child participate in group activities to develop various interests in life and study as much as possible, etc. This is quite important for the prevention, relief and eradication of bronchial asthma.