Identifying Exercise-Induced Asthma and Tips for Management
Posted on Aug 01, 2011 | Comments 0
Exercise-induced asthma or exercise-induced bronchospasm as it is also known is a kind of asthma that could be brought on only by exercise for some people and for others it could be brought on by exercise plus other factors.
Since exercise is what can bring on an asthma attack, should one be condemned to a sedentary life without exercise or exertion?
Symptoms of exercise-induced asthma
While some shortness of breath during exercise and feeling a bit tired afterwards is common and normal, with asthma induced by exercise, these reactions are more severe.
The symptoms of exercise-induced asthma may be triggered a few minutes after starting exercise, i.e. during exercise or some minutes after completing a workout.
Symptoms may include the characteristic wheezing, pain or tightness in the chest, feeling very tired, shortness of breath, labored breathing and the inability to exercise properly.
Sometimes the symptoms of this kind of asthma maybe misinterpreted by the person thinking that they are just out of shape when in fact they may be experiencing the symptoms of asthma.
Severe symptoms could manifest when the symptoms are exacerbated by environmental allergens such as dust, smoke, and pollen and so on. Severe symptoms could include an altered level of consciousness. In some cases the person may suffer Cynosis because of lowered levels of oxygen in the blood.
Very often after the asthma attack, for about an hour or so, the asthma sufferer may be able to exercise and experience few or no symptoms. On the other hand, a milder, recurring attack could take place in the hours following the attack which could be triggered even without exercise.
Management of exercise-induced asthma
While in some other types of asthma, it may be a simple matter to avoid the asthma triggers after identifying them, it is less easy with exercise-induced asthma since exercise it good and necessary for health and it may actually be difficult to have a completely sedentary life.
Also rather contradictorily, exercise can help you remain in good shape and actually reduce the frequency and severity of the asthma symptoms. So it is important to continue to exercise even if one has exercise-induced asthma.
To avoid severe symptoms of exercise-induced asthma, Mayo Clinic recommends that the person should warm up with gentle exercise before going for the more demanding activities. Higher levels of humidity also help to ease symptoms.
It is recommended that one should steer clear of other allergens (pet dander, smoke, pollen) as well as infections (such as colds) that could exacerbate and worsen symptoms of exercise-induced asthma. If one does have a cold exercise should be avoided for the duration.
Proper breathing technique should be learnt – breathing through the nose is better since it warms air before it reaches the lungs. If exercising in cold weather cover the mouth and nose for the same reason; to prevent cold air from triggering an attack.
Though it isn’t possible to cure exercise-induced asthma, it is possible to reduce the severity of symptoms and to obtain proper treatments to keep it under control.
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Posted in: ASTHMA
