Educational and Exercise Programs for Asthmatic Children

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Abstract
We designed programs to teach appropriate exercises to asthmatic children and to educate their parents about their special needs. Each of 11 programs over a six-year period included a weekly two-hour session for four weeks. Lectures for parents dealt with the etiology and precipitating events of asthma, environmental control and drug therapy, family interaction with a psychiatrist, and hyposensitization therapy and food allergy. The 59 children, aged 4 to 13, played group games, learned breathing exercises, and were assisted by their parents in postural drainage. School absences decreased in 59%, emergency room visits decreased in 70%, medication usage decreased in 54%, and the number of attacks decreased in 70%. Greater understanding of asthma by both parents and children improved the quality of life and lessened the severity of the disease.

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