A new U.S. study suggests that hypnosis treatment can improve breathing in kids having asthma or other respiratory problems caused by emotional dishevel.

The age-old therapy is especially beneficial to children who hyperventilate, cough, or breathe noisily and who face difficulty in breathing, finds the study.
Initiated by Dr Ran D Anbar and his colleagues from the SUNY Upstate Medical University in New York, the latest research set out to find the effect of hypnosis on children with respiratory ailments like cystic fibrosis and asthma.
Hypnosis is increasingly being used to help people stop smoking or lose weight and advisers recently recommended its use on the NHS to treat irritable bowel syndrome.

Dr Anbar, a professor of Pediatrics at the University informs, "Hypnosis has potential therapeutic value in children with respiratory disorders for alleviating symptoms such as habit cough or unexplained sensations of difficulty breathing and for lessening a child's discomfort during medical procedures."

Study details

The researchers examined data collected by past studies and carried out experiments on children suffering from emotionally triggered respiratory conditions to arrive at the findings of the study.

On analysis, they found that correct usage of hypnosis, which connects the mind and body, as an alternative treatment for respiratory problems in children has a positive impact on the body and helps them relax.

The scientists also found that children showing respiratory disorders due to psychological reasons showed increased improvement as compared to those having other breathing problems.

"Once children decide they want to learn hypnosis, initial instruction on self-hypnosis can take 30 minutes or less," says Dr Anbar.

He adds, "Children tend to be more receptive to hypnosis than adults."

Dr Anbar cautions parents against getting hypnosis treatment done for their offspring by anybody but the medical professional who has trained in the therapy, otherwise it can also prove dangerous for the child and further worsen the situation.

An economical treatment

The study authors propose that hypnosis treatment could possibly replace the other expensive tests that are usually carried out to detect respiratory problems that erupt suddenly.

Harold Farber, the editor of medical journal 'Pediatric Asthma, Allergy Immunology' and associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston says, "Anbar has added hypnosis to our therapeutic toolbox."

"When breathing problems have a large mind-body component, resolution with hypnosis can dramatically reduce the need for expensive testing and medications," he further says.

The study titled 'Adding Hypnosis to the Therapeutic Toolbox of Pediatric Respiratory Care' has been detailed in the February issue of the medical journal, Pediatric Asthma, Allergy & Immunology.

© 2010

© 2008 Richard Nicholls. www.midlandshypnotherapy.com