Work and School

• Children with asthma can miss school days. There are some days that their breathing difficulty is not conducive to doing any activity including going to school. Even if your child is keeping up with her school work at home, she is missing out on the experience of learning in a group. An adult with asthma may need to stay home from work periodically, which can be a financial burden. The work missed can be a negative factor when he is being considered for a raise or promotion.
  
  

Sports and Activities

• Children may be unable to participate in sports and any other school activity that requires physical exertion. Even when a child has been cleared by a doctor to do so, the fear of experiencing an asthma attack may hold him back. This is the same for adults with asthma. Although you might be perfectly capable of participating in activities such as skiing, tennis and softball, fear may keep you from doing so.
  
  

Medication

• Many children with asthma need to have access to their inhalers at all times. This can be embarrassing for them at school when they need to go to the nurse to get it. For both adults and children, an inhaler is something they must always carry with them. This can be a real emergency if it is forgotten or they need to use it and it is empty.
  
  

Pets

• Many adults with asthma cannot have a pet, which can be very hard for someone who is a dog or cat lover. This not only impacts them but their other family members as well. Many children with asthma cannot go to visit friends who have pets. This limits their social life by keeping them away from birthday parties and play dates. Pets are a large part of many people's lives, and if a child with asthma needs to avoid them this can interfere greatly with her social life. In addition, trips to zoos, the circus or farms are not safe places for a child with asthma.
  
  

Psychological Impact

• The fear of having an asthma attack can impact both adults and children. Living with this daily fear and having to avoid certain situations can lead to psychological problems such as depression and panic disorder. Children especially might fear they will die from the next attack and become very attached to home. Adults feeling this way may develop agoraphobia which can severely alter the quality of their lives.
  
  

Family Impact

• Parents of children who have asthma often worry constantly about their child. When a child is first diagnosed with asthma there tends to be frequent emergency room visits due to the fear of the parents for their child's safety. This situation impacts the whole family. Places that are unhealthy for an asthma sufferer are avoided, which can keep the other family members from having these experiences.