Expert: Samantha Mattingly - 2/15/2008

Question
My daughter is 14 yrs old and experiences sharp pain in the middle of her chest from time to time that hurts worse when she brethes in.

Answer
Dear Desiree,

It's probably not asthma, and she certinaly is not dying.  I've had the same problem, and it turned out it was just chest wall pain, which means pain coming from the wall of her chest.  I would have her try putting a heating pad on the area for 20 minutes, then an ice pack for twenty more minutes, and continuing as long as she needs to.  If it isn't helping with at least 2 hours of treatment, then I would go to the doctor as she might have asthma or another serious problem.