Many of us can only claim laziness and an inability to organise time as reasons why we don't regularly participate in sporting activities.

Teenager Rachel Doughty has a more legitimate excuse – asthma.

"I would love to do sports," she insisted, "but I can't do a lot of sports because of asthma. If I go too long I feel faint and nauseous.

"It's a burden not being able to do things I want to do because of my asthma."

The 14-year-old Saltus student said she's had the condition for as long as she can remember. Her mother, Rosie Doughty, said Rachel was a toddler when they first discovered she was asthmatic.

"I remember we had a device that went over her nose and mouth to help her breathe because she was so little," said Mrs. Doughty.

"And I remember the nurse saying it's OK for her to cry with it on because it will mean that she is breathing very deeply. It was alarming for me to hear this, but true."

Dealing with asthma was not new to Mrs. Doughty. Her older daughter Rebecca was diagnosed with the illness when she was five.

"I had thought she was just a chesty baby," she recalled. "When the doctor said she had asthma I didn't believe him and called my sister in England. She's a doctor, and when I described the symptoms to her she said it sounded like asthma."

Both girls have used a Ventalin inhaler since they were little children.

"Luckily they both have very mild cases," said Mrs. Doughty, "They've never had an asthma crisis or had to be hospitalised."

Mrs. Doughty said she didn't feel the disease had a major impact on their lives.

Her view changed when Rebecca was about 10, and came home with a questionnaire on asthma given to her at school.

"One of the questions asked if she felt overwhelmed by asthma and she answered 'yes'," said Mrs. Doughty.

"I was so surprised and felt badly, so we went for a session with [asthma nurse] Liz Boden."

Mrs. Doughty said the appointment was made so that Rebecca could get sufficient asthma education that she would feel able to manage the condition. "But I really learned a lot there myself," she said.

In particular she learned the importance of ensuring her girls had their inhalers and took enough when needed.

"I used to be worried about them taking two puffs every two hours, it seemed too much," she said.

"But Liz said if they were taken to hospital, they would be given enormous amounts of Ventalin straight away. My sister agreed, and said that asthma is largely under-treated," she added.

Mrs. Doughty warned the girls to have their inhalers and spacers [a device to help administer the drug in the inhaler] on them at all times. In primary school their teachers had an additional inhaler for each of them as a backup.

Rebecca is in university overseas now, and Rachel no longer has a teacher with a backup inhaler for her.

"My friends do a lot of sports and a lot of them are fitter than I am," she said. Although she was on the field hockey team for four years, she said she was forced to quit last year because of her illness.

"When I played hard and was on the pitch for a long time, I would feel really tight in my chest, get out of breath and I'd be so tired," she said.

Giving up the team, she said, has improved those conditions. "But I love sports and really wish I could play," she said.

The swimming teacher said she even has to be careful when in the water.

"My boss knows I have asthma and when I am feeling testy she will tell me to put my hands on my head and stand up. This helps bring oxygen to the upper body.

"I have to relax, stand still and concentrate on my breathing," she said.

"As an asthmatic I sometimes breathe with no air – no oxygen. This is called anaerobic breathing. In anaerobic breathing lactic acid builds up in the muscles causing them to cramp. If I feel really bad I know that I need to stop and take a break, breathe and oxygenate my blood," she explained.

The simple method works well but Rachel fears that her inability to exercise will result in significant weight gain.

"I have gained a bit of weight. I can do swimming but I am getting a little self conscious of gaining weight," she said.

And she's concerned of the hormonal impact on her body. She said that although playing two hours of field hockey hurt her, it also felt good.

"I would be energised because of the adrenalin," she said.

She tries to get the same effect through swimming and said that she will do laps as a form of release.

"If I go straight home after swimming I will be hyper," she added, describing it as a state where she feels out of breath and requires an inhaler.

Her asthma also limits her involvement in activities with her peers.

"A lot of my friends do the Middle-to-End as a social thing," she said. "I did it once but it was really hard and I am not going to try it again. I do feel that I am missing out on some socialising."

Yet despite this, she keeps an active schedule, playing saxophone in the Saltus Jazz Band and singing.

"I feel it sometimes when I sing and when I play my instrument," she said. "It's not so much that it hurts me to play – it's different. It's like after playing a long note I have to take a deeper breath than other people."

And while she says she finds the disease a burden, she said she's had lots of education on the topic through presentations at her school by asthma nurses Jennifer Wilson and Liz Boden.

"I should take more care in what I do at home – like I'm supposed to freeze my pillow – but I don't have the patience or the time to freeze it," she said.

"And I'm not supposed to be exposed to things like Lysol and Febreze, but these are used in my house. I don't feel that it affects me, but I'm told that over time it will cause problems."

Rachel's mother expressed similar concern. She said because her daughters are not severe cases she may not be a vigilant as she could be in protecting them from asthma triggers. But she said she encourages them to use their ventilators and to have them handy at all times.

"I don't think it's too much of a problem anymore," she said. "These days there's no stigma attached to using the apparatus, although Rachel said she was embarrassed using her spacer last year. She said it looked immature."

For help or information on asthma visit www.openairways.com or call Debbie Barboza on 239-1652, Liz Boden on 232-0264 or Jennifer Wilson on 332-8915.