Exercise Induced Asthma

Why Exercise Induced Asthma Need Not Stop You Working

Exercise-induced asthma is becoming an increasingly common occurrence, partly because all types of asthma are on the rise, and partly because of the increase in the numbers of people over-exercising in our physical culture in an often mistaken attempt to improve their health. There is no reason why asthma sufferers should not take some exercise activity, and indeed exercising gently is likely to mean that the body can be kept in a more healthy condition. What needs to be avoided is the stress and overwork which can trigger and cause an asthma attack, and undo all of the good which will have been done by your other treatments.

Overview of Exercise Induced Asthma

By definition, asthma is a chronic (long-term, ongoing) inflammation of the breathing passages (bronchi) of the lungs. The inflammation can irritate the airway(s), causing breathing problems.

Exercise-induced bronchospasm is also called exercise-induced asthma. This is asthma that is caused or triggered by vigorous physical activity. Exercise-induced asthma usually affects children and young adults because of their high level of physical activity; but it can occur at any age.

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) describes the narrowing of the airways that occurs together with exercise. Studies have shown that EIB occurs in up to 90% of asthmatic patients. It has been estimated that EIB occurs in > 10% of the general population.

Occupational asthma has been shown to occur in almost any line environment, including offices, stores, hospitals, and medical facilities.

Pregnant women can develop exercise-induce asthma if they don't take certain precautions while exercising. Pregnancy asthma medications are available.

To understand why exercise can be a problem for asthma sufferers, you need to understand how the condition develops and worsens in the first place. Although there is as yet no definitive answer on what causes asthma to occur in the first place, it is clear that the breathing and the lungs are severely affected. Often, the sufferer will be gasping for breath (wheezing) and appear to be about to suffer a kind of strangulation. Anything which affects breathing patterns can aggravate the condition, and vigorous exercising can certainly do this. Even in perfectly fit and healthy people the breathing can become considerably more exaggerated.

Allergic (extrinsic) asthma is affected by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction. Allergic asthma is airway obstruction and inflammation that is partially reversible with different medications. This is the most common form of asthma. It affects over 50% of the 20 million asthma sufferers. There are over 2.5 million children under age 18 suffer from allergic asthma. Many of the symptoms of allergic and non-allergic asthma are the same (coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or rapid breathing, and chest tightness). However, allergic asthma is triggered by inhaled allergens. Some of these allergens include: dust mite allergen, pet dander, pollen, mold, etc. resulting in asthma symptoms. Allergic rhinitis is a collection of symptoms, mostly in the nose and eyes, which occur when you breathe in something you are allergic to, such as dust, dander, insect venom, or pollen.

Signs and Symptoms of Exercise Induced Asthma

Kids and adults with asthma experience symptoms when the breathing passages or airways tighten or fill with mucus. Some common asthma symptoms include:

Coughing, especially at night

Colds (cold weather)

Wheezing

Allergy

narrow airways in the lungs

Shortness of breath in the

Chest tightness, pain, or pressure

All the same, not every person with asthma have similar symptoms. Some symptoms can be prevented. You may not have all of these symptoms, or at different times you may have different symptoms of asthma . And also note that your symptoms may also vary from one asthma attack to the next, being mild during one and severe during another.

As the consequences and pain of an exercise induced asthma attack can be severe, it is not something to take chances with. If you are trying to lose weight, the primary focus and guide will need to be on keeping the amount of calories consumed down to a minimum, and reducing the amount of empty calories taken in through junk food. You will not have the same ability to burn off calories which a perfectly healthy person will have. Performance of exercise in any sports should not be strenuous. Gentle exercise can still be taken, but only within your own personal limits of endurance which must never be severely tested.

Simple testing may be all that is needed to diagnose exercise-induced asthma. Eucapnic Voluntary Hyperventilation (EVH) test is often the easiest to perform. But if exercise challenge is to be performed, then this should be done in the athlete's sport. So request an appointment with your physician and provide health information. There will be questions and answers. Your medical doctor may opt to give you an inhaler to try out before exercising or challenge tests. If he finds that the inhaler works, you probably do have an asthma condition. For many kids or athletes with exercise-induced asthma, using albuterol or other inhaled and related rescue medications or medicines a few minutes before exercise is enough to ease symptoms. There are asthma controller medicines that can really help prevent asthma symptoms when taken every day as prescribed.

When you exercise, asthma can be triggered and made far worse, as the air which you breathe is forced through the airways in and out with far greater velocity. This can certainly trigger a reaction in the body, which can be a severe handicap to someone who is attempting to lose weight through exercise because they know that obesity is another risk factor in asthma. It can be disheartening to try to do something to improve your condition and only end up making it even worse. The only solution is to work out a manageable plan with your physician

The proper management and treatment of asthma conditions which is exercise related is not fundamentally different from the treatment for any other asthma, with the obvious consideration that if you are normally physically active you will have to slow down a bit. Cutting down the number of calories you consume will allow you to exercise less without putting on weight, and you can increase your intake of filling foods such as bread if you are experiencing hunger pangs. If you can switch to gentle exercise such as walking (not track and field), you can still burn some fat while keeping your breathing under control. To prevent attacks, try to walk in areas away from major highways, as traffic pollution is a risk factor and can trigger an asthma attack.

There have been studies exploring the causes and treatment of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) which could lead to the development of drugs to battle these debilitating respiratory diseases and conditions.

A program to cope with exercise induced asthma can be worked out with your physician, and will be easy to follow if you include and use a heart rate monitor. There are levels beyond which your body should not be pushed in any case, as the body will stop burning fat and seek energy from more immediate sources. By staying well within these limits, you should be able to avoid having your asthma triggered. The one positive side of this is that you will then be guaranteed to be exercising safely from every point of view, and not just for coping with exercise induced asthma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles

• Asthma
• Asthma Inhaler
• Asthma Diet
• Asthma Attack
• Adult Onset Asthma
• Asthma Education
• Asthma Research
• Treatment Of Asthma
• Asthma In Infants
• Children With Asthma
• History Of Asthma
• Allergy Asthma
• Asthma Action Plan
• Asthma Diagnosis
• Asthma Facts
• Childhood Asthma
• Exercise Induced Asthma
• Asthma Symptoms
• Cause Of Asthma
• Asthma Doctor



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