Several pharmaceutical companies had impressive exhibit booths at the 2007 ACAAI meeting in Dallas.

One of the more interesting booths was for Xolair, a medication to treat allergic asthma. Xolair works by blocking immunoglobulin E (IgE), an underlying cause of allergic asthma. Approximately 60% of asthma cases are mediated by IgE.

The Xolair ‘Air Xperience’ was a 3-D, multimedia experience that allowed me to feel the chest tightness and difficult breathing that occur with asthma attacks.

As you can probably see from the photo, I wasn't very comfortable in the tight vest (I was really trying to smile) – and I had not yet stepped into the Air Xperience when the photo was taken.

Besides the vest, I also had to wear 3-D glasses. Once inside the Air Xperience booth, I watched a 3-D movie about allergic asthma. Whenever the main character had an allergic asthma attack – when a cat walked into the room, for instance – the vest got very tight around my chest (much like an arm cuff on a blood pressure machine), making it harder to breathe.

I was relieved to take off the vest, but I'm glad that I got to experience some of the discomfort of an asthma attack.

Visit www.xolair.com to learn more about the medication.

Visit The Asthma Solution Guide to learn more about asthma.