Doctors are warning that Facebook could trigger extreme stress reactions after a teenager suffered asthma attacks caused by seeing his ex-girlfriend online. The depressed 18-year-old, who was denied access to her site after the break-up, was able to log back in using a made-up nickname。
But the shock of seeing her brought on an asthma attack, which was repeated each time he looked at his ex-girlfriend's profile. A warning to asthmatics of the risk was echoed by British experts, who claimed that stressful situations were a well-known trigger for vulnerable patients。
Dr Gennaro D'Amato, of the Antonio Cardarelli High Speciality Hospital, Naples, and colleagues, give details of the case in The Lancet medical journal. They said the patient was depressed after breaking up with the girl who had also deleted him from her site, while 'friending' many new young men. By disguising himself with a new Facebook nickname, he managed to become her friend once more and was confronted by her picture. The sight of this seemed to induce shortness of breath, which happened whenever the patient viewed her profile。
They said: '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.'We suggest that this type of trigger be considered in the assessment of asthma exacerbations.' Cher Piddock, from the charity Asthma UK, said: 'Stress is known to trigger asthma symptoms with nearly 70 per cent of people with asthma telling us it affects them。