Mild exercise-induced asthma is quite common in the world and is different than bronchial asthma. When you have mild exercise-induced asthma, you experience symptoms of asthma, such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. These symptoms may occur during your exercise and last after your exercise is done. It is most common in children with known asthma but can occur in any child or adult who has never had a diagnosis of asthma.
Cause of Exercise-induced Asthma
During aerobic exercise, you tend to breathe faster and more shallowly, and you also tend to breathe through your mouth. When you don't breathe through your nose, the normal mechanism for your body to warm the air entering your lungs is altered, and the air cannot get humidified and warmed. Cool, dry air causes your airways to narrow, making it more difficult for you to breathe in and out normally. The exact mechanism of why this occurs is still being studied, but the result is that you have a bronchospasm that limits your airflow.
Activities That Can Lead to Exercise-induced Asthma
Activities that are aerobic or require endurance are typically the sports that can lead to exercise-induced asthma, or EIA. Soccer is an example because it requires you to exert yourself for prolonged periods of time. Long-distance running would be another example. Sports and activities that are done in cold weather might also cause you to have mild EIA, such as cross-country skiing or ice skating. Sports that allow you to rest between spurts of activity are better suited to you if you know you have a degree of EIA.
Determining if You Have Exercise-induced Asthma
Only a health-care professional can diagnose you and help you to treat EIA. If you have symptoms that you think are abnormal during and after exercise, seek professional care. These symptoms might be wheezing and coughing or shortness of breath. Sometimes you may experience this after starting your exercise. While this may be normal if you are out of shape or working out harder than usual, the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma last longer after you stop exercising. They may last for 20 minutes or up to an hour. Your health-care professional will talk to you about your history, perform a physical examination and determine if breathing tests are necessary to diagnose EIA.
Ways to Prevent Exercise-induced Asthma
Once you have been diagnosed with EIA, your health-care professional can work with you to determine if you might benefit from short-acting inhalers that can be used before exercise to keep your airway open and allow you to breathe normally. Identifying what triggers your EIA is useful and can prevent episodes from occurring if you can avoid those triggers. For example, if cold weather triggers your breathing problems, you can minimize your exposure to the cold by keeping your mouth covered with a scarf or warmer. If you know that pollutants trigger your EIA, you can monitor the air quality in your area and minimize your activity when the air quality is poor. Warmup exercise such as stretching or walking is another technique to help prevent EIA. Cool-down exercise is also recommended. Speak to your health-care professional for questions specific to your health.
