Boy with asthma died suddenly after feeling ‘fine’ at school and playing with younger brother
The mother of a boy who died suddenly after an asthma attack has called for ‘greater awareness’ around the disease that killed her son.
It comes a year after her 10-year-old son Warren Dowling collapsed and stopped breathing in March last year.
He had felt ‘fine’ at school and playing with his younger brother on a trampoline, his family said.
But his mother Belinda Dowling, from Portsmouth, described how he had asked for his inhaler after playing outside before he quickly turned blue and stopped breathing.
She told PA: ‘They say your life can change in a moment and we didn’t know how true that was.
‘Warren mostly managed fine with his asthma, but once or twice a year he’d have a really bad asthma attack and have to go to hospital, which was frightening.
‘Then one evening last March, after he’d been fine in school all day and happily played with his little brother Cameron on the trampoline, he came to me and said he needed his inhaler. It didn’t seem to be working and he started to panic, then while I was on the phone for an ambulance, he turned blue and stopped breathing.
‘His dad did CPR until the ambulance arrived and got him to hospital, but there was nothing they could do to save him.
‘Warren was always so happy with a cheeky smile on his face, even if he was getting told off – a real character. His siblings have all been coping in different ways, it comes up at random times. Seven-year-old Cameron asked me the other day why Warren didn’t come back out to play with him on the trampoline, when he’d promised he would.’
‘Asthma care is in crisis’
Now Mrs Dowling wants more to be done to raise the profile of the severity of the condition.
She said there has ‘never been enough awareness of asthma.’
Mrs Dowling said: ‘There has never been enough awareness of asthma, I want everyone to know how serious asthma is and for no-one else to go through what we have.
‘I know Warren would be really happy if his story could help others.’
Asthma and Lung UK warned that ‘little has been done’ in a decade since the National Review of Asthma Deaths in 2013.
More than 12,000 people in the UK have died from asthma attacks since its landmark report was published, which set out how the majority of asthma deaths are preventable and what steps could be taken to prevent deaths.
It said that ‘shockingly little has changed’ since the report and that ‘asthma care is at a standstill.’
Sarah MacFadyen, head of policy and external affairs for Asthma and Lung UK, said: ‘It’s scandalous that 10 years on from the report’s recommendations to improve asthma care, four people are still dying needlessly from the condition every day.
‘Asthma care is in crisis. People are not getting the care they need and deserve. As a result the UK continues to have one of the worst asthma death rates in Europe.
‘We don’t want to be saying the same thing in another 10 years; this is a problem we know how to fix.
‘With better care and support, people with asthma could manage their condition well and avoid life-threatening asthma attacks, while investment in research and innovation to develop technology to help people self-manage their asthma, could also be transformative like it has for conditions like diabetes.
‘Not only will these changes save lives and improve people’s health and quality of life, it will also reduce the impact of poorly controlled asthma on health services and help the NHS.’
A government was working to ‘improve services for people with chronic conditions such as asthma so they can live longer, healthier lives,’ a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said.
They continued: ‘The NHS has established a groundbreaking lung health checks programme which will detect and treat more lung conditions and has set up 13 dedicated clinical networks to improve lung services across the country.
‘We’re also looking into chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, as part of our forthcoming Major Conditions Strategy, which will allow us to ensure care is better centred around the patient.’
Another grieving mother is campaigning to make inhalers free in England after her 25-year-old son died following an asthma attack in December last year.
What to do if someone is having an asthma attack
St John Ambulance charity shared advice on what to do if you see someone have an asthma attack and what symptoms to look out for.
Signs and symptoms of an asthma attack
- difficulty breathing
- wheezing and coughing
- a tight chest, it may feel like a band is tightening around it
- distress and anxiety
- difficulty speaking, shown through short sentences and whispering
- signs of hypoxia such as grey-blue tinge to the lips, earlobes and nailbeds
- exhaustion, in the case of a severe attack
What to do to help
- Reassure them and as them to take their usual dose of their inhaler which is usually blue. Ask them to breathe slowly and deeply.
- Sit them down in a comfortable position
- A mild attack normally eases after a few minutes. But if it doesn’t, they could be having a severe attack. Ask them to take a puff every 30 to 60 seconds until they have taken 10 puffs. Help them to their inhaler if they need assistance.
- If the attack is severe and t hey are getting worse, becoming exhausted or if this is their first attack, call 999 or 112 for emergency help.
- Monitor their breathing and level of response. If the ambulance has not arrived within 15 minutes, repeat step 3. If they become unresponsive at any point prepare to give CPR.
- If the symptoms improve and you do not need to call 999, advise them to get an urgent same-day appointment with their GP or asthma nurse.
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