WSchmitt_Annotation12_StressandAsthmaWebMD

This article is a WebMD article written by Heather Hatfield, a "freelance health writer in Boston, Mass. She has her master's degree in health communication from Emerson College and Tufts University School of Medicine." The article was reviewed by Charlotte Grayson Mathis, MD, who was once the Senior Medical Editor for WebMD but now is a private practice internist in the Atlanta area. This article discusses the connection between asthma and anxiety. This article also tries to explicitly state that stress does not cause asthma, it worsens the symptoms and is a trigger that exacerbates asthma. To quote the article, "It is important to note that asthma is not a psychosomatic disease." This is a quote by Dr. Pramod Kelkar. Anxiety and asthma is an incredible spiral that induce each other causing a serious asthma episode. Also, medication for asthma can cause stress problems, which can throw asthma episodes into that spiral. For example, prednisone, an oral steroid, is taken temporarily for serious asthma episodes that need serious treatment. Unfortunately, prednisone has known side-effects of mood swings that put a large amount of emotional stress on a sufferer. Also: "Sometimes a long-term asthma-medication doesn't work well, and wheezing and chest tightness occurs all too often. Then, a vicious circle can begin, where anxiety worsens asthma, and asthma worsens anxiety, says Kelkar." The University of Wisconsin noted in a study that when asthmatics experiencing an asthma episode were shown words associated with asthma, they experienced aggravated symptoms demonstrating an emotional effect on the physical disease of asthma.

Hatfield, Heather. "Stress and Asthma." //WebMD - Better Information. Better Health.// 01 Mar. 2007. Web. 10 May 2010. <[]>.