"Sports help me to build stamina and train my lungs to work more efficiently." | Loo Shu Hinn, 17

Having asthma is not fun at all! Why? Imagine yourself gasping for air and still not being able to catch your breath. Besides, as a person who likes sports, it is extremely difficult for me to breathe after every session of my exercise.

When I was young, around 7 to 9 years old, I already had mild asthma symptoms which required me to use a tool that the doctors gave. The tool that I use is a manual phlegm vacuum which is used to suck up all the phlegm that has accumulated within my lungs. If I didn’t use it every day, the phlegm accumulates and blocks my airways.

These days, I am not required to use the tool anymore. However, whenever I’m having an allergic reaction, my airways shrink, and it becomes harder to breathe.

The most common symptom I have is becoming breathless after coming into contact with allergens.

I would always have to keep my room clean and dust-free because dust particles could cause allergies. These will lead to wheezing, difficulty in breathing and a lot of phlegm production.

I am very grateful that I can still do vigorous sports like basketball and badminton. It is not easy to breathe after every session, but it definitely helps me to build stamina and train my lungs to work more efficiently.

Real Life Asthma Stories Booklet

This asthma life story is part of a booklet of stories created for community engagement in Malaysia. Read all the stories in the booklet produced by the University of Malaya and Universiti Putra Malaysia, RESPIRE partner organisations in Malaysia.