Exercise-Induced Asthma

There are many types of asthma. What is asthma? Asthma is a disease of the lungs that negativly affects the bronchial tubes or airways. The term "asthma" comes from a Greek word meaning, "to breathe hard". In healthy lungs the air moves freely through the bronchial tubes. The bronchial tubes are made mostly of muscle and mucous membranes. An asthma attack occurs when the membranes inside the bronchial tubes release too much mucus and become inflamed. The muscles contract and have spasms. This is what causes wheezing.

Doctors used to split asthma into two distinct types: extrinsic or allergic asthma and intrinsic or non-allergic asthma. More recently, the medical community has recognized more types of asthma: allergic, non-allergic, exercise-induced, nocturnal, occupational and steroid-resistant asthma.

Exercise-Induced Asthma is not as common as the other types but just as dangerous. Asthma induced by exercise is triggered by exercise or physical exertion. Many people with asthma also have symptoms of exercise induced asthma. But some people only develop symptoms of asthma with exercise. The airways are most constricted five to 20 minutes after exercise begins and so some people medicate themselves before they start their exercise routine.

The symptoms of exercised-induced asthma are

Coughing
Tightening of the chest
Wheezing
Unusual fatigue while exercising
Shortness of breath when exercising


It is possible to prevent exercised-induced asthma symptoms with medications. In fact, Olympic athletes compete with asthma. To lessen your symptoms you can warm up before exercising and cool down after exercising. If that doesn't work well enough, you can use an inhaler. Asthma inhalers or bronchodilators such as albuterol can be taken 15-20 minutes before exercise and give four to six hours of relief. There are also long-acting beta-2 agonists, such as Serevent and Foradil, which can provide up to 12-hour relief from exercise-induced asthma. Even with these medications, a person with asthma should always have an asthma inhaler available.

There are some exercises that are better than others for people with exercise-induced asthma. Volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, walking, and wrestling, are good sources of exercise for people with exercise-induced asthma. These are smart choices because they involve quick, intermittent periods of exertion.