CBBC presenter Raphael Olaiya has shared the terrifying moment he thought he might die during an asthma attack.
The kid’s TV star has suffered with the common breathing condition since childhood – though he had no idea at the time.
@drraphaelll/InstagramCBBC star Raphael Olaiya suffered several terrifying asthma attacks as a child[/caption]
@drraphaelll/InstagramThe TV presenter and GP said he felt like his lungs were ‘encased in cement’[/caption]
Recalling one episode when his lungs felt like they had been “encased in cement”, Raphael told The Mirror: “That feeling of impending doom was visceral.
“I will never forget the awful sensation of fighting for every breath. It was terrifying.”
The 30-year-old, known as Dr Raph on CBBC comedy series Operation Ouch! which he hosts with his twin brother Daniel, had no history of asthma when he first noticed some worrying signs.
Aged six, he began panting after a friend’s birthday party where he had been sitting next to a parent who was smoking.
A short time later, he found himself struggling to breathe while at his grandmother’s in Reading, Berkshire.
The youngster felt so bad he lay on the sofa with his head buried in his hands, but kept his concerns to himself.
Raphael, from Torquay, Devon, said: “I was fighting so hard just to get air into my body, and I can remember feeling incredibly clammy and sick.
“It was as if my lungs had been encased in cement. I didn’t know what to do as I couldn’t even speak.”
He said looking back, he can now see he was having an asthma attack and was in “extreme respiratory distress”.
But as a young boy, he was “too proud to make a fuss”.
Fortunately, his grandmother clocked that he needed help and rushed him to A&E where he was put on a nebuliser to open up his inflamed airways.
Once his breathing had returned to normal, he went home – but wasn’t given an inhaler or any guidance in case the same thing happened again.
Raphael, who makes television appearances alongside his job as an NHS GP registrar, said it was no surprise he had another “awful” attack a couple of years later.
It was only then that he was given a formal asthma diagnosis and two inhalers to manage and prevent his symptoms.
Scarred by two traumatic childhood experiences, Raphael is supporting Asthma + Lung UK’s campaign to help parents understand the triggers and get their kids regularly checked.
He said: “Asthma isn’t taken seriously enough, and I know from working in a hospital it can be incredibly dangerous, even fatal.”
GettyRaphael with his brother and Operation Ouch! co-host Daniel[/caption]
@drraphaelll/InstagramRaphael, 30, had no history of asthma when he first noticed some worrying signs[/caption]
What is asthma?
ASTHMA is a common lung condition that causes occasional breathing difficulties.
It affects people of all ages and often starts in childhood.
It is caused by swelling of the breathing tubes. This may happen randomly, or after exposure to a trigger like dust mites, animal fur, pollen, smoke, exercise and infections like cold or flu.
Symptoms of asthma include:
A whistling sound when breathing (wheezing)
Breathlessness
A tight chest
An asthma attack happens when symptoms get temporarily worse.
While there is no cure, treatments for the condition include reliever inhalers and preventer inhalers. Some people also take tablets.
Data from Asthma + Lung UK suggests NHS hospital admissions for children with asthma have soared by 149 per cent across England and Wales in the last year.
Around eight million people – or 12 per cent of the British population – have been diagnosed with asthma.
Source: NHS and the British Lung Foundation