Hypnosis Helps Children with Asthma, Other Respiratory Disease

Children who suffer from asthma or respiratory disorders may get symptom relief from hypnosis, according to a researcher at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. Ran D. Anbar, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, recommends hypnosis as a treatment option for children whose symptoms seem to have a psychological component. Respiratory diseases in children include vocal cord dysfunction (a condition that presents with asthma-like symptoms), asthma, cystic fibrosis, and habit cough. Asthma is the most common of these conditions, affecting about 9 percent of children, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. More than 50 percent of patients who have asthma also suffer from anxiety, and more than 10 percent may suffer from vocal cord dysfunction. About 1,000 children are born with cystic fibrosis each year in the United States. Habit cough is a persistent cough that has no clear physical cause, and it is associated with stress. Dr. Anbar notes that symptoms such as a disruptive cough, difficulty taking a breath, noise when breathing in such as a squeak or gasp, difficulty swallowing despite normal lung function, and hyperventilation as possible indications for trying hypnosis as a complement to medical therapy in children. Symptoms that do not occur when children are sleeping (e.g., as in habit cough), that are associated with or triggered by an emotional response, or that are associated with a specific location or activity may be especially response to hypnosis. According to Dr. Anbar, once children decide they want to learn hypnosis, initial instruction on self-hypnosis can take 30 minutes or less. Children tend to be more receptive to hypnosis than adults. Previously published data support the use of hypnosis in children who have a respiratory condition that has a significant mind-body component, such as habit cough and vocal cord dysfunction. In a critical review conducted at Harvard and published in 2007 in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, the research reported that hypnosis has great potential for treating symptom severity and illness-related behaviors for people who have asthma. The review also noted that hypnosis is effective for managing emotional states that worsen airway obstruction. Dr. Anbar recommends hypnosis as a treatment option for children who suffer with respiratory diseases. He warns parents to seek a medical professional who has been properly trained in hypnosis to teach their

children the technique. Once children who have respiratory diseases have learned self-hypnosis, they can also use it for more than their respiratory symptoms: it can also be called upon when they need to undergo medical procedures that may cause them anxiety, such as bronchoscopy, injections, or placement of an intravenous line.