ABSTRACT
Emotional upsets aggravate asthma. School going children are prone to asthmatic attacks during school examinations. It is recommended that stressful conditions must be avoided to prevent asthma. Socio Economical and psychological factors play an additional role. This study was conducted to explore the association between stress and asthma. The hypothesis was that stress alone may be responsible for a change in pulmonary functions. 28 normal and healthy adult medical students of both sexes who were non asthmatics were selected. A pre-examination and post examination pulmonary functions were compared to pulmonary function tests during examination. No significant statistical changes were seen in pulmonary function parameters. Further studies are required to find a balance between parasympathetic and functional sympathetic activity in relation to stress and emotional stimuli in asthmatic patients