when I was a teenager, I had my first asthma attack. I have excersise induced asthma as well as alergy induced asthma.
I had my first attack when we were training for soccer when I was in high school (14 or 15 I think). As I was running around the track, all of a sudden, it felt like my chest was collapsing and I started gasping for breath. Even when I stopped running, I still couldn't catch my breath. It felt like someone was grabbing my trachea and prohibiting air from flowing into my lungs. I couldn't catch my breath for a few minutes -- until the trainer ran down and gave me an inhaler. Then after two puffs the feeling went away.
Hope this helps a little,
- Alicia
