Exercise-induced Asthma
Asthma is a chronic lung condition that is characterized by difficulty in
breathing. People with asthma have extra sensitive or hyper-responsive airways.
During an asthma attack, the airways become irritated and react by narrowing and
constructing, causing increased resistance to airflow, and obstructing the flow
of the air passages to and from the lungs.
A few people seem to get asthma attacks only when they run or take other
exercise.
In the past, doctors thought this was a different form of asthma. However, it is
now known that it is very common for people with asthma to have asthma attacks
during exercise.
This "exercise-induced asthma" is especially a problem for young people. In fact
doctors used to puzzle over why children got exercise-induced asthma and why
adults did not. Eventually research discovered the obvious reason : most adults
do exercise as much as children.
Doctors now believe that people who get asthma attacks only when they exercise
have asthma which is too mild to show up most of the time, needing the extra
provocation from faster breathing to bring it out.
If the air you breathe during exercise is cold and dry, then the asthma will be
worse. If it is warm and moist, the asthma will be less bad. This explains why
swimming usually causes less asthma than outdoor running.
Increased breathing during exercise causes cooling and drying of the lining of
the air passages and this is usually necessary for someone to get
exercise-induced asthma. This explains why warm moist air protects against
exercise-induced asthma. At this stage it is not understood why the drying and
cooling of the airway linings causes the asthma episode.
Exercise is just one of many things which show that the air passages are being
irritated or that you are an asthma sufferer.
This means things which are harmless to other people may trigger an attack of
asthma.
To some extent people differ in which of these things cause the most asthma.
Nevertheless, they all cause irritation or narrowing of the air passages in
asthma sufferers.
So exercise is just one of many things which can provoke narrowing of the air
passages in asthma. It is just one of many things which reveal the abnormal
irritability or 'twitchiness' (called hyper-reactivity) of the airways which is
an important feature of asthma.
Exercise-induced asthma can be useful for diagnosing asthma in a child.
Exercising a child for about 6 minutes is a convenient and safe way of provoking
a mild asthma attack, and this has led to many children getting early and
appropriate advice and treatment.
Exercise-induced asthma has also been useful in asthma research. It can be used
for testing the effectiveness of new medicines which may help treat asthma in
the future.
You will already have picked up some useful clues. Swimming rather than running,
warmer and moister air, warm-up by short periods of exercise, and getting into
training can all help.
Many cross-country skiers wear breathing masks which store some of the heat and
moisture from the air they breathe out and return it to the air they breathe in.
This is helpful in avoiding exercise-induced asthma.
In addition, taking control of your asthma, by using a 'preventer' treatment or
by avoiding causes of asthma such as house dust mites and pets, can have a
tremendously positive effect on exercise-induced asthma.
If you are a professional athlete, then you may be concerned about
disqualification because you use drugs to control your asthma. The good news is
that all the ordinary asthma medicines, used in the medically recommended way
and dosage, are acceptable to sporting bodies provided you use them correctly
for asthma. If you are in any doubt, then seek expert advice.
At a Glance …
Exercise-induced Asthma ?-
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that makes airways (bronchial
tubes) particularly sensitive to irritants, and this is characterized by
difficulty in breathing.
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Exercise can induce asthma.
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However, asthma can be managed, even by professional athletes.
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People, particularly children, should not avoid sensible exercise
just because they have asthma.
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Asthma Resources
The asthma resources on this site are based on various reports and the experience of respected authorities.
Type of Exercise
Some types of exercise are worse than others. For example, if you do different
types of exercise that you use the same amount of oxygen, then some will cause
more wheeziness or chest tightness than others.
Avoid Exercise
People with asthma should definitely exercise. Enjoyable exercise is even more
important for asthma sufferers than for other people.
Occupational Asthma
Some jobs can actually cause asthma. Asthma caused by dust or fumes at work is
called occupational asthma.
Peak Flow Meters
A peak flow meter is a hand-held device that shows how well you are breathing.
Asthma Diagnosis
Diagnosis is the first step in keeping asthma under control.
Trends and Statistics
More people in western countries suffer from allergies, compared to people in
less affluent rural parts of the world, and allergy rates are also on the
increase.
Living with Asthma
It is important that you work with your doctor to make an action plan that you
are both happy with.
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