Regular exercise is important for everyone, but for people with exercise induced asthma getting a daily workout can be a challenge. As the name implies, exercise induced asthma is asthma that’s brought on by physical activity. Needless to say, this can make participation in sports more of a challenge, but by taking some extra precautions the symptoms of exercise induced asthma can be reduced and even a person with exercise induced asthma can still get a good workout.

What Are the Symptoms of Exercise Induced Asthma?

The symptoms of exercise induced asthma are similar to those of regular asthma and include wheezing , tightness, coughing, and shortness of breath, but generally don’t occur unless a person is exercising. Symptoms usually come on within the first five to fifteen minutes of exertion. In some cases the symptoms of exercise induced asthma won’t occur until the exercise session has been completed.

What Causes the Symptoms of Exercise Induced Asthma?

In a person who experiences exercise induced asthma, the bronchial tubes – the tubes that carry air into the lungs – are ultra-sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. Exercising outdoors especially in cold, dry air can lead to bronchospasms – a condition where the bronchial tubes narrow and the flow of air into the lungs is reduced. This causes chest tightness, wheezing, and shortness of breath – definitely not symptoms you want to experience when you’re out on the football field.

How Can You Treat the Symptoms of Exercise Induced Asthma?

Most people with this condition will require a prescription asthma inhaler to be used fifteen minutes before anticipated exercise. Other asthma therapy may also be needed since tolerance to asthma inhalers can develop if they’re used more than three times per week. One effective way to reduce the severity of exercise induced asthma symptoms is to do a good warm-up before starting to exercise seriously. This can include walking or cycling at a moderate rate – enough to modestly boost the heart rate for seven to ten minutes. This gives the bronchial tubes time to adjust to the temperature changes associated with exercise so they’ll be less likely to clamp down and cause wheezing and chest tightness.

Cold air is a strong trigger for most people with exercise induced asthma. Wearing a scarf that covers the nose and mouth can help to reduce the shock of cold hair hitting the bronchial tubes. If possible, exercise in the winter should be done indoors in a warm environment. Cold, dry air is the most likely to trigger exercise induced asthma.

Pollution and exposure to allergens can also trigger symptoms of exercise induced asthma. For this reason, it’s important to treat allergies and to avoid exercising outdoors when pollution levels are high. Exercising outdoors early in the morning or late in the evening may be best to reduce exposure to exhaust fumes from cars.

Colds and viral infections can make exercise induced asthma symptoms worse, so take a break when you’re congested, coughing, or running a low grade fever.

The Bottom Line

Symptoms of exercise induced asthma don’t have to put you on the sidelines. Take a few extra precautions and you can still get a safe and effective workout – with minimal wheezing.