Factors Affecting Ventilatory Function in the Child with Asthma

Exacerbations of asthma in children are often attributed to events producing stress or excitement, climatic changes, and infections; Peshkin (1959) showed that a marked clinical improvement often occurred on removing a child from his home environment. Purcell (1963), interviewing 20 asth-matic children described as rapidly remitting on withdrawal from their home environment, found that 15 ofthem reported as a trigger factor emotional arousal of an unpleasant nature, such as episodes of interpersonal conflict with members of their immediate family. Dekker and Groen (1956) demonstrated changes in vital capacity in response to exposure to stimuli which had a psychological effect on their subjects