Boy beats asthma by playing euphonium

A nine-year-old boy has beaten asthma by taking up the euphonium.

Ryan Harrison, was diagnosed with the condition as a baby, and would get breathless when just standing and talking.

But six months after beginning lessons on the brass instrument, which looks like a small version of a tuba, his symptoms have diminished.



His mother, Marie Johnson, 32, said: "He began playing at the beginning of the year, and within a couple of weeks his breathlessness completely disappeared. Since then he has had no wheezing at all.

Leanne Male, assistant director of research at Asthma UK, said: "There has been very little scientific research on the benefits of wind and brass instruments to people with asthma.

"However, there seems to be increasing amounts of anecdotal evidence suggesting that it does help some people with asthma to better manage their condition."