A TEENAGER who ended up in hospital due to the severity of his asthma has now taken up speed skating – because of a breath test which "transformed his life".
Jack Bates was diagnosed with a rare form of the condition when he was eight years old and, after years of unexplained chest infections and coughs, ended up in A&E.
The 13-year-old was referred to a specialist at the Derbyshire Children's Hospital, who tried a machine which checks the breath and gives a reading on how inflamed the airways are.
The FeNO tests were able to help doctors determine how often Jack, of Mayfield Road, Ashbourne, needs his inhaler.
As a result, he has been able to take up sports and now joins his brother, Harry, for sessions with Ashbourne's speed-skating club.
The tests have just been recommended for use within the NHS by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence – but Derbyshire Children's Hospital said it had already been carrying them out for a number of years.
Jack's mum, Julie, 39, said: "He is a typical teenager and he thinks that, if he is feeling okay, he doesn't have to use his inhaler.
"Now he is 13, he is responsible for taking it – but we were finding he wasn't.
"When we went to see Dr Will Carroll at the hospital, he said he had this wonderful new machine which would shows whether he was taking his medicine.
"He got me to breathe into it to show a normal reading and, when Jack breathed into it, his reading was very high. Jack was shocked – we all were.
"I think he didn't really understand why he had to keep taking his inhalers – but this showed him."
Julie said, because of his asthma, Jack thought he was no good at sport. She said: "He struggled to keep up but it was really his lungs that couldn't cope with sport.
"Now they can and he is gaining in confidence. He goes to speed skating with Harry and is enjoying it."
Jack was first diagnosed with asthma after Julie took him to the A&E department with a "nasty cough which just wouldn't budge".
She said his oxygen levels had became very low and it later turned out he had pneumonia.
Julie – who said she, husband Anthony, 51, and son Harry, nine, did not have asthma – said: "Jack had a history of chest infections as a small child and was always given antibiotics but we never thought it could be asthma.
"When he had a cold, it would go on to his chest and he would have a nasty cough. But he was never wheezy.
"My sister and my husband's sister both have asthma but not this type. It was also heightened in summer with his hay fever."
The breath test suggested by Dr Carroll measures FeNO, or fractional exhaled nitric oxide. Patients with asthma have higher levels of this than other people.
Julie said she agreed with Dr Carroll she would give Jack the incentive of a trip to the shops – if he focused on taking his medication every day and bringing the reading down at the next appointment in three months. She said: "Jack had a target to work to and he did it."
Jack's medication has now been tailored for him so he has two puffs on two inhalers each morning and night, before returning to Dr Carroll every six months.
Dr Carroll, who has been carrying out the breath tests for about a year, said: "We have had to rely on charitable donations previously and I hope the NICE announcement will ensure funding is freed up for this important equipment. The patients find it useful and children enjoy doing it.
"We can also use it to open up discussions about adherence to treatment – particularly for parents with teenagers who find it difficult to be certain about what is going on with treatments at home."
