Has one of your friends ever asked you what it feels like to have asthma?

Well here’s a way to show them what it’s like when you can’t breathe. All you need is a straw (the kind you drink soda with).

Here’s what you do:

• Have your friend run in place really fast for a whole minute.
• If you don’t have a clock or a timer, just have them do 50 jumping jacks or jump rope 100 times instead.
• When they’re finished, they should be breathing hard and fast.
• Tell them to stop, then put a straw in their mouth.
• Tell them to close their lips around the straw, plug their nose, and try to breathe through the straw.

They’ll see how hard it is to get air into their lungs through the straw. They’ll feel like they’re having an asthma attack and can’t breathe. Then, they’ll understand what you feel like when you have asthma!

Reprinted from Allergy & Asthma Health magazine, Fall 2000.