'I just didn't know it could happen so fast'

Logan Hartnoll, 4, was being driven to the medical centre when he started breathing in but couldn't get any breath out. Photo / Supplied

The grieving parents of a young boy who died following an unexpectedly severe asthma attack have spoken publicly to warn other parents about the disease.

Four-year-old Logan Hartnoll died last Saturday morning as his frantic mother rushed him to a medical centre, barely 2km from their Botany home in Manukau City.

"I just didn't know it could happen so fast," a stunned and tearful Kirsten Hartnoll told the Weekend Herald yesterday. "How does it go from bad to worse so quickly?"

Mrs Hartnoll - who suffered asthma as a child - said Logan had always been wheezy, after experiencing bronchialitis as a baby.

But though his breathing was often laboured, he had never had a genuine asthma attack.

Logan used a reliever inhaler and a preventer inhaler, and Mrs Hartnoll was always careful to keep his room clean and dust-free. He did not suffer from any allergies.

Mrs Hartnoll said that on the night before he died, Logan had been wheezing and was clearly asthmatic.

She was taking him to the medical centre to be put on a nebuliser when the attack happened.

He was sitting in the back seat of the car, when he "started breathing in, but couldn't get any breath out".

He was pronounced dead at the medical centre, and an autopsy later gave "an acute asthma attack" as the cause of death. His funeral was held on Thursday.

Dean Hartnoll - who waved his wife and son goodbye as they left for the centre - said yesterday that he wanted other parents to be aware of how quickly asthma can strike and how quickly it can kill.

"I just don't want him to die for no reason. I want [Logan's death] to be a message - see the signs, and love your kids."

Mr and Mrs Hartnoll also have a daughter aged 7 and a son aged 2.

Asthma deaths for adults and children reached 132 in 2006, the latest year for which Health Ministry figures are available.

According to the Asthma Foundation, the disease is most common in autumn and winter, when cooler air makes it more difficult to breathe.

Foundation spokesman Malcolm Aitken said sufferers are urged to take advantage of flu vaccinations - for both seasonal and swine flu - as soon as they become available.

Parents of asthma-prone children should discuss an asthma management plan with their GP or health professional, Mr Aitken said.

The use of preventer inhalers was also crucial. Anyone using a reliever inhaler - for when an attack strikes - more than three times a week should also be using the preventer.

asthmafoundation.org.nz