I was thinking about writing a fanfic, and wanted to know if anybody can help me with some medical information.

Can a teenager (15-17 years old) have an asthma attack for the first time in his/her life due to exercises (not allergy)?

What does a person feel when they have a mild asthma attack? And a stronger one?

Hope anyone can help.

malu

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

Alicia,

That must have been a horrible experience.

Sorry to keep making you remember that, but did it happen long after you started playing soccer in high school, or was it just at the first few training sessions?

malu

I had been playing for years (ever since I was a little kid). It happened my sophomore year I think it happened durring the summer durring the morning session of two-a-days, but not at the very beginning of the summer -- maybe in August. So I'd been training heavily for at least a couple of weeks that summer before it happened in my second year of playing in high school (I played sports all my life soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball ever since I was little).

- Alicia

Thank you very much for all your help, Alicia.

Now the chance of the fanfic coming out is much greater.

Let's see what I can do.

malu

I have one more question ; if anybody could answer me, it would be great.

What happens when a person has a very strong asthma attack and the inhaler does not solve the problem? I know that the person is taken to the hospital immediatelly, but what happens there: is the patient intubated, or given some special medicine, or what?

malu

I think the usual treatment would be a stronger inhaled medicine, possibly combined with a shot of epinephrine (aka adrenaline). But that's a vague memory from when it happened to a friend of mine, years ago.

I just asked my brother, and he said that he would go to the ER, where they would give him nebulizer breathing treatments every 10 minutes. And after that, they sent him home.

Oh, and he said that it was Albuterol in the nebulizer.

Hi Anni,

Albuterol is the generic name for "Proventil" or "Ventolin" (brand names)is bronchodilator used in treating asthma and other conditions with reversible airway obstruction.

http://www.medicinenet.com/albuterol/article.htm

They mix Albuterol with another medication (I don't remember the name)is use to cause to stimulate mucous (sputum or phlegm),of you bronchial can be loosen an the person can breath more easy. You start to cough, and cough until you vomite verything inside and there no more mucous, sputum or phlegm inside. Sorry!
:rolleyes: Worse experience of my life.
http://www.medicinenet.com/Chronic_Obstructive_Pulmonary_Disease_COPD/page2.htm

MAF

My poor little brother.....he got diagnosed when he was an infant....the doctors finally came out and said he had asthma when he was about 18 months old....I remember him crying while he was taking his first treatments....he's been on medication nonstop ever since....on Albuterol, Proventil, Ventolin....now he's on Flovent, in an inhaler. He's had that since he was eight or so, and will likely have to take it for the rest of his life. My other brother also has asthma, but usually only has a problem once a year or so. He's virtually 'grown out of it.'

Hi Anni,

My son started at 2 years old. Every week was a run with close call. In the morning he was in the doctor with only a small sign of alergy and hour later a was run to emergency.
The medication started to create obesity, but he couldn't stop the use of them.
As he grow older he started to control what he was eating. He was alergy to preservative, color, condiment, flour,sea food, dust, pollen, etc.
With time the asma attack disappear now are rear. But he still alergic to everything.
He play basketball, run, jump and everything any adolescent do.
I thought that never stop. On the 17 of july he will be 18 years old and he already in college.

MAF