Watching children run and play outside whether on a play ground or a soccer field is one of the great joys in life. They seems to move so effortlessly running freely, stooping, and jumping, their bodies seemingly made for motion, activity and energy. But for a child or an adult with asthma, exercise is all too often a foe, not a friend: It triggers attacks in 80 to 90 percent of people with asthma. Amateur and professional athletes have particularly high rates of exercise induced asthma, with studies finding that between 11 and 50 percent are affected.
Make no mistake : Exercise induced asthma, also called exercise induced bronchospasm, is asthma. It’s not a type of asthma, an “asthma like” condition, or a separate disease. It’s diagnosed when you have an asthma attack, or spasm of the bronchial airways, 5 to 15 minutes after beginning or ending physical exertion. The main cause isn’t really known, but researchers suspect it’s related to the loss of heat, water or both from the lungs during exercise. This occurs because of the common tendency to breathe through your mouth when you’re exercising, so you take in cooler, drier air that hasn’t had a chance to pass through your nose (which warms and moistens it).
Unfortunately, if exercises is the only trigger for asthma, the condition may go undiagnosed, particularly in athletes. The breathlessness and wheezing you experience after exercise may be the only symptom of exercise-induced asthma, leading you to think that you just get out of breath easily. That could be why one study found unrecognized exercise induced bronchospasm in as many as 29 percent of athletes studied.
Don’t let this happen to you. As you learned in earlier chapters, asthma is often a chronic disease that requires treatment on a regular basis, not just when symptoms occur. When you exercise, watch out for shortness of breath or wheezing, decreased exercise endurance, chest pain or tightness, cough, upset stomach or stomachache, and sore throat. If you experience any of these symptoms, stop exercising and allow your breathing and heart rate to return to normal. Generally, the “attack” lasts only a few minutes, but it can be just as scary as any other asthma attack, often leading otherwise healthy people to avoid exercise altogether.
The only way to know for sure if your symptoms are related to asthma is to see a specialist, who may conduct an “exercise challenge” test to confirm a diagnosis. This usually involves evaluating your lung function before and after you’ve run on a treadmill or used an exercise bicycle for about 10 minutes.
Preventive Strategies
As with any form of asthma, medication plays a major role in controlling your symptoms, but there are also several non medical steps you can take to avoid exercise induced asthma.
Improve your overall physical condition. The better shape you’re in, the stronger your lungs are. Thus, they’ll be less sensitive to the cool, dry air you take in while exercising.
Warm up for at least 10 minutes before you start exercising.
Try not to exercise outside in cold weather. If you do (as with skiing), cover your mouth and nose with a scarf or face mask to warm and moisten the air.
Exercise in warm, humidified environments. Swimming in a heated indoor pool is often considered a good exercise for people with exercise induced asthma.
Try not to exercise outside in areas of high pollution or at times when the air quality is poor. For example, don’t run alongside a busy road or bike on hot days when ozone levels are high.
Wait at least 2 hours after eating before exercising. This ensures that your stomach has emptied and reduces the risk of gastric reflux, or heartburn, which could lead to aspirating bits of food into your lungs if you have an asthma attack.
Try to breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
Also consider changing your sport. The Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology recommends sports with intermittent periods of activity, such as swimming, baseball, wrestling, golf, walking, leisure biking, hiking and downhill skiing, rather than sports such as jogging, tennis, basket ball or soccer. And monitor your condition with a peak flow meter. If your readings indicate that your asthma is getting worse, it’s signal to put off strenuous exercise.
Make no mistake : Exercise induced asthma, also called exercise induced bronchospasm, is asthma. It’s not a type of asthma, an “asthma like” condition, or a separate disease. It’s diagnosed when you have an asthma attack, or spasm of the bronchial airways, 5 to 15 minutes after beginning or ending physical exertion. The main cause isn’t really known, but researchers suspect it’s related to the loss of heat, water or both from the lungs during exercise. This occurs because of the common tendency to breathe through your mouth when you’re exercising, so you take in cooler, drier air that hasn’t had a chance to pass through your nose (which warms and moistens it).
Unfortunately, if exercises is the only trigger for asthma, the condition may go undiagnosed, particularly in athletes. The breathlessness and wheezing you experience after exercise may be the only symptom of exercise-induced asthma, leading you to think that you just get out of breath easily. That could be why one study found unrecognized exercise induced bronchospasm in as many as 29 percent of athletes studied.
Don’t let this happen to you. As you learned in earlier chapters, asthma is often a chronic disease that requires treatment on a regular basis, not just when symptoms occur. When you exercise, watch out for shortness of breath or wheezing, decreased exercise endurance, chest pain or tightness, cough, upset stomach or stomachache, and sore throat. If you experience any of these symptoms, stop exercising and allow your breathing and heart rate to return to normal. Generally, the “attack” lasts only a few minutes, but it can be just as scary as any other asthma attack, often leading otherwise healthy people to avoid exercise altogether.
The only way to know for sure if your symptoms are related to asthma is to see a specialist, who may conduct an “exercise challenge” test to confirm a diagnosis. This usually involves evaluating your lung function before and after you’ve run on a treadmill or used an exercise bicycle for about 10 minutes.
Preventive Strategies
As with any form of asthma, medication plays a major role in controlling your symptoms, but there are also several non medical steps you can take to avoid exercise induced asthma.
Improve your overall physical condition. The better shape you’re in, the stronger your lungs are. Thus, they’ll be less sensitive to the cool, dry air you take in while exercising.
Warm up for at least 10 minutes before you start exercising.
Try not to exercise outside in cold weather. If you do (as with skiing), cover your mouth and nose with a scarf or face mask to warm and moisten the air.
Exercise in warm, humidified environments. Swimming in a heated indoor pool is often considered a good exercise for people with exercise induced asthma.
Try not to exercise outside in areas of high pollution or at times when the air quality is poor. For example, don’t run alongside a busy road or bike on hot days when ozone levels are high.
Wait at least 2 hours after eating before exercising. This ensures that your stomach has emptied and reduces the risk of gastric reflux, or heartburn, which could lead to aspirating bits of food into your lungs if you have an asthma attack.
Try to breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
Also consider changing your sport. The Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology recommends sports with intermittent periods of activity, such as swimming, baseball, wrestling, golf, walking, leisure biking, hiking and downhill skiing, rather than sports such as jogging, tennis, basket ball or soccer. And monitor your condition with a peak flow meter. If your readings indicate that your asthma is getting worse, it’s signal to put off strenuous exercise.