Health warning: Facebook may trigger asthma attack

The social networking website Facebook has literally exploded in recent years and become a fascinating phenomenon. Literally millions of people all over the world are sharing photos, music, videos, and all sorts of information with friends and family. But a new study suggests that using Facebook can actually trigger an asthma attack.

Doctors found that the 18-year-old Italian man suffered asthma attacks every time he accessed his ex-girlfriends Facebook profile.

The man had been taking two inhaled steroid drugs a few times a day to control his asthma. However when his girlfriend decided she no longer want to date him – and worse, removed him as a friend on Facebook – his asthma worsened.

After taking the man’s medical history and giving him a complete physical exam, the doctors dismissed other potential environmental and infectious factors and determined that seeing his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook page set off the man’s asthma attacks.

A team of researchers led by Gennaro D’Amato, MD, of High Specialty Hospital A Cardarelli in Naples, Italy, studied the symptoms of the young man whose asthma attacks had been repeated when he logged on to Fabebook.

“The temporal relation with onset of symptoms suggests that [the] Facebook log-in was the trigger of asthma exacerbations, in which hyperventilation might play a key role,” the doctors wrote.

The man’s concerned mother evaluated his breathing patterns before and after his Facebook activity and discovered a 20% difference. After consultation with a psychiatrist, the man decided not to log into Facebook any more. That stopped the asthma attacks. Researchers say social networks could cause psychological stress and trigger attacks in depressed asthmatics.

Facebook is one of top most visited web sites globally with more than 500 million active users. In the U.S., more than 7% of adults have asthma, one of the most common respiratory problems in the U.S. and around the world.

Asthma (AZ-ma) is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways.

People with asthma experience symptoms when the airways tighten, inflame, or fill with mucus. Common asthma symptoms include:

* Coughing, especially at night
* Wheezing
* Shortness of breath
* Chest tightness, pain, or pressure