Alison Hall , 48 , almost choked to death after a false nail in her pocket worked its way into her asthma inhaler . It then shot to the back of her throat when she took a puff . An asthma sufferer almost choked to death when she took a puff on her inhaler and nearly swallowed a false nail . Alison Hall , 48 , was at work when she felt her chest tightening and took out her blue salbutamol inhaler . She took a sharp breath and felt something shoot to the back of her throat where it became lodged . The mother-of-one ran outside in a panic when a neighbour came to her rescue and began pounding her back before calling 999 . After five minutes of choking , a false nail finally came loose from the back of her throat and fell out onto the pavement . Ms Hall , who works for a local authority , said it was part of a cheap £1.50 set she had used weeks before and had probably fallen in her pocket . She believes the nail may have worked its way inside the inhaler through a gap at the top . She added : 'The inhaler has a lid but the top is open . There is a millimetre gap on each side . I spoke to my doctor and she was mortified . ' Ms Hall is now urging others to check their inhalers before use . She said : ' I check my inhaler constantly . I 've been using it for about ten years now and I use it regularly . ' I can go days without using it but then at times I need to use it a lot more . 'At about midday I used it and I checked inside the mouth piece . Then I was in work and went in my pocket . I took the lid off and took a puff . 'Something went into the back of my throat and I started choking . I don't know how long that nail had been in there . ' She added : 'My brain told me to run outside . There was a neighbour who was two doors down and I was trying to shout help . ' I kept thinking `` I 'm going to die '' . Blood started to come out of my mouth . 'The man started hitting and hitting me on my back . Then his wife came out and took over . Her husband then rang 999 . ' Scroll down for video . Ms Hall said the nail was part of a cheap £1.50 set she had used weeks before and had probably fallen in her pocket . She believes the nail may have worked its way inside the inhaler through a gap at the top . Lee Bray , 45 , his wife Tracy , 37 , and their daughter Millie , 11 , continued to help Ms Hall until the paramedics arrived . She said : 'The next thing I knew there was a nail on the floor and a pile of blood . The nail had been scratching me and causing me to bleed . ' I was choking for about five minutes . It felt like more air was coming out than was going in . 'Even when the nail had come out I kept saying to the ambulance people it was still in there , so they gave me another hard hit and more blood came up . ' Ms Hall , of Oldham , Greater Manchester , said : 'The paramedic and the doctor at the hospital said that I was one lucky lady . 'You do n't know how scary it is until you go through it . I thought I was going to die . ' 'My main concern now is making other people aware of the dangers . '
Alison Hall , 48 , says the nail became lodged and she started to choke . Believes nail had come off in her pocket and worked way inside the inhaler . There is a 1mm gap at top of salbutamol inhaler where it may have got in . Now wants to warn others about thoroughly checking inhalers before use .