Strange that you should title this post 'Clockwatching' - that's exactly how I refer to the feeling of having an acute severe asthma attack, with a slightly different emphasis. For me, it's the way time seems to slow to a stand-still, watching the clock in Resus, as the hands creep around, waiting for the drugs to kick in. Even if I knew I was going to feel completely better within five minutes (which is never the case) it would still feel hugely, monsterously too long. 'I was clock-watching' is my way of saying 'it was a bad attack'. Top job and top post. I've had paramedics attend me who have failed to recognise that I'm having a life-threatening attack, mainly due to the absence of wheeze when I'm 'silent chested'. Emily H (junior doctor and brittle asthmatic)