A NIGHT out with friends ended in tragedy when Zoe Nunn died after suffering an asthma attack.
The family of the 20-year-old student are now urging others to take the condition seriously.
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Zoe was studying politics at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and was in a nightclub with friends.
Her mum Louise Nunn, 49, suggests she’d gone into the toilet because she was having difficulty, before being found in the toilet in cardiac arrest.
Louise, from Ipswich, said: “We were woken up in the middle of the night by the police and we were blue-lighted to the hospital in a police car, which was traumatic.
“We were told right at that very first point that things didn’t look good because she had been in cardiac arrest for so long.
“Although they got her heart beat back, she obviously had suffered brain damage by that point…
“We were told to bring family in to say goodbye.”
A post-mortem examination revealed Zoe, who died in May 2022, had suffered a cardiac arrest caused by an asthma attack.
As a child, she had been admitted to hospital with asthma, but had not had an attack for a long time and was not carrying her blue reliever inhaler.
Louise said the family have to cope with the loss of Zoe’s future “as well as our future with her”.
She said: “She wanted to go and study for her MA in journalism in Edinburgh, that was her plan, and obviously that wasn’t ever realised.
“She’d had her first relationship but she hadn’t really had a proper relationship, hadn’t been in love necessarily.
“There are lots of things that she wanted to do and that she’d got mapped out that she hasn’t been able to do.
“Her sister Lily has now had a baby – a baby Zoe never got to meet.”
According to NHS data, there are typically 70 per cent more emergency asthma admissions in young people aged 15 to 24 during autumn than there are during the summer.
In 2024 in England, cases almost tripled from 235 emergency admissions in August to 640 in October.
Now Louise, Zoe’s dad Mark, 52, and her sister Lily, 27, have joined forces with the charity Asthma + Lung UK to warn students heading off to university to always carry inhalers if they have asthma.
If we can even change one person’s view and make them carry an inhaler, we can prevent another family having to go through what we’ve gone through
Louise Nunn
Louise said: “We want to raise awareness, because if we can even change one person’s view and make them carry an inhaler, we can prevent another family having to go through what we’ve gone through.
“I think for us as a family, it’s just about making young people aware that just carrying your inhaler can actually save your life.
“Zoe also hadn’t registered with a doctor at uni, she didn’t have her asthma plan with her.
“I think if we can just encourage young people to do these things, hopefully other families won’t be in the situation we’re in.”
She added: “It’s impossible to describe the incredible sorrow that Zoe’s death has left us with.
“She was such a strong personality – political, passionate about inequality, compassionate and articulate.
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“She was desperate to play her part in fighting injustice and was so full of promise. Her dream was to become prime minister.”
Asthma + Lung UK is also calling on new and returning students with asthma to register with a university GP, carry inhalers and make sure friends and flatmates know they have asthma.
Dr Andy Whittamore, clinical lead at the charity, said: “Going to university is an exciting time, but it is essential that young people with asthma know how to access the right care when they move away from home and are scrupulous about taking their inhalers and other medication as prescribed.
“It’s important for students to be open about having asthma, and to have print-offs or screen shots of their asthma action plans.
“It’s vital too that they know what to do if they have an asthma attack, and that they’ve scoped out in advance how to get to the nearest hospital.
“During freshers’ week, many students are dealing with a perfect storm of asthma triggers, such as cigarette smoke, vapour, excess alcohol, new food, stress, excitement, increased exposure to viral infections, mould, damp, and even different types of pollen and air pollution which can make those first few weeks at university tough on their lungs.”
How to treat an asthma attack
If you’re having an asthma attack, sit up straight to help your breathing and try to stay calm.
Use your asthma reliever inhaler if you have one:
- If you have a blue reliever inhaler, take one puff every 30 to 60 seconds until you feel better, up to a maximum of 10 puffs. Shake the inhaler between each puff and use a spacer with the inhaler if you have one.
- If you have an AIR or MART inhaler (used for both preventing and treating symptoms), take one puff every one to three minutes until you feel better, up to a maximum of six puffs.
If your personal asthma action plan has a different maximum dose for treating an asthma attack, follow the instructions in your plan.
You should call 999 id you or someone else is having an asthma attack and:
- start to feel worse at any time
- do not feel better after taking the maximum dose using as asthma reliever inhaler
- do not have an asthma inhaler
If symptoms are no better after 10 minutes and an ambulance has not arrived, use an asthma inhaler again if you have one, taking up to the same maximum dose.
You should’t drive yourself to A&E. The person you speak to at 999 will give you advice about what to do.
If you have an asthma attack and no inhaler you must call 999 immediately for an ambulance.
While waiting for help, sit in an upright position to open your airway, stay as calm as possible, and try to take slow, deep breaths.
If you know the trigger, move away from it to fresh, clean air if possible.
Do not wait for your symptoms to improve.
