A young man suffered asthma attacks that were trigged by logging on to Facebook, say doctors. Medical journal The Lancet features a report about a teenager who had repeated asthma attacks brought on by using the popular social networking website.
The 18 year old was feeling down after his girlfriend broke up with him and deleted him from Facebook. By setting up a profile under a pseudonym, the man succeeded in 're-friending' her, but the act of looking at her profile seemed to bring on shortness of breath. These symptoms occurred every time he logged on to the site.
The five doctors, headed by Dr Gennaro D'Amato from Italy, say: 'The (man's) mother was advised to ask him to measure his peak flow before and after internet login and, indeed, 'post-Facebook' values were reduced, with a variability of more than 20%. In collaboration with a psychiatrist, the patient agreed to no longer log in to Facebook and the asthma attacks stopped.'
The doctors say that other possible factors for the symptoms were excluded with a thorough history and physical examination, and so say that the hyperventilation he experienced was due to seeing his ex-girlfriend's profile.
The doctors conclude: 'This case indicates that Facebook, and social networks in general, could be a new source of psychological stress, representing a triggering factor for exacerbations in depressed asthmatic individuals. Considering the high prevalence of asthma, especially among young people, we suggest that this type of trigger be considered in the assessment of asthma exacerbations.'
Cher Piddock, Lead Asthma Nurse at Asthma UK says: 'Stress is known to trigger asthma symptoms with nearly 70% of people with asthma telling us it affects them. Other stress-inducing situations which can act as a trigger include depression, financial problems, bereavement and extreme work-related stress.
'Facebook or other social networking sites can sometimes lead to stressful emotional situations which may also trigger asthma symptoms. Monitoring your condition and taking your medicine regularly should help to keep asthma in good control.
'Talk to your doctor or asthma nurse if you are going through a difficult time and it is affecting your asthma, or call our confidential Asthma UK Adviceline on 0800 121 62 44.'
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