The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of swimming as therapeutic adjuvant for asthmatic children from 6 to 14 years of age. The aim was to verify whether this physical activity would decrease both the duration and the intensity of crises and/or increase the crisis-free period. An interview was carried out with the mothers of asthmatic children who swin. 17 interviews were done in 6 swimming schools in Santa Catarina Island. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data, and interpretation analysis was used for qualitative information. Results of such analysis showed that swimming does increase the crisis-free period, decreases crisis duration, and an improvement was seen in the degree of severity of the crises. Other results obtained were the following: asthmatic children develop more resistance with swimming; psychological and social improvements were also observed; even if subjectively, observations also showed a more effective mechanical ventilation after swimming, which leads to improved pulmonary ventilation and to respiratory re-education
