Hypnosis and asthma: A critical review

Asthma is among the most common chronic diseases of the western world and h as significant effects on patients' health and quality of life. Asthma is t ypically treated with pharmaceutical products, but there is interest in fin ding nonpharmaceutical therapies for this condition. Hypnosis has been used clinically to treat a variety of disorders that are refractive to pharmace utical-based therapies, including asthma, but relatively little attention h as been given recently to the use of clinical hypnosis as a standard treatm ent for asthma. Significant data suggest that hypnosis may be an effective treatment for asthma, but it is premature to conclude that hypnosis is uneq uivocally effective. Studies conducted to date have consistently demonstrat ed an effect of hypnosis with asthma. More and larger randomized, controlle d studies are needed. Existing data suggest that hypnosis efficacy is enhan ced in subjects who are susceptible to the treatment modality, with experie nced investigators, when administered over several sessions, and when reinf orced by patient autohypnosis. Children in particular appear to respond wel l to hypnosis as a tool for improving asthma symptoms.