Exercise-Induced Asthma
I will sometimes have patients come to me reporting a tightness in the chest and wheezing while exercising or after exercising. For those patients I have with the more commonly recognized forms of asthma they already understand these symptoms as exercise-induced asthma. Other patients don't always recognize that this is a form of asthma, because they don't experience asthmatic symptoms at other times.
This form of asthma, which does appear in people who haven't been diagnosed with another form of asthma, such as allergic asthma, is known as exercise-induced asthma. The asthma symptoms that occur from this activity may last for 45 minutes to 3 hours after the end of exercising. These symptoms include coughing, tightening of the chest, wheezing, unusual fatigue while exercising, and shortness of breath when exercising. These symptoms usually being within 5 to 20 minutes after the start of exercise.
For some asthmatics or non-asthmatics who experience these symptoms they may want to try and avoid physical activity. Avoiding physical activity is not recommended despite the problems caused by asthma symptoms. Treatment and regular physical activity are important for maintaining health. In addition, many people who experience asthma still engage in normal healthy physical activity, including some Olympic athletes.
Typically exercise-induced asthma occurring in patients who don't have another form of asthma is caused when exercising in certain conditions. These conditions are dry air or air cooler than 55 degrees. What occurs is this activity in these conditions causes a cooling of the airways. This cooling can lead to a reaction in which the lungs spasm. This leads to asthmatic symptoms like coughing and wheezing.
During normal breathing, the air we breathe is at first warmed and moistened by the nasal passages. When exercising many people tend to breathe through their mouths, resulting in colder, drier air entering the airways than is typical. The muscle bands around the airways are sensitive to these changes in temperature and humidity and react by contracting, which narrows the airway. This is what leads to the symptoms.
For those individuals suffering from exercise-induced asthma there are treatment options. An albuterol inhaler used 15 to 20 minutes prior to exercise can prevent the asthmatic symptoms. In addition to medications, warming up prior to exercising and cooling down after exercise can help prevent exercise-induced asthma. For those with allergic asthma being selective about when you exercise and avoiding high pollen days or days with low temperatures or high air pollution levels can help avoid exercise-induced asthma.
Consult your physician, if you are experiencing these symptoms and she or he may run some tests to help determine if you're suffering from exercise-induced asthma. For further information visit the Dr. Bob Show online.
This form of asthma, which does appear in people who haven't been diagnosed with another form of asthma, such as allergic asthma, is known as exercise-induced asthma. The asthma symptoms that occur from this activity may last for 45 minutes to 3 hours after the end of exercising. These symptoms include coughing, tightening of the chest, wheezing, unusual fatigue while exercising, and shortness of breath when exercising. These symptoms usually being within 5 to 20 minutes after the start of exercise.
For some asthmatics or non-asthmatics who experience these symptoms they may want to try and avoid physical activity. Avoiding physical activity is not recommended despite the problems caused by asthma symptoms. Treatment and regular physical activity are important for maintaining health. In addition, many people who experience asthma still engage in normal healthy physical activity, including some Olympic athletes.
Typically exercise-induced asthma occurring in patients who don't have another form of asthma is caused when exercising in certain conditions. These conditions are dry air or air cooler than 55 degrees. What occurs is this activity in these conditions causes a cooling of the airways. This cooling can lead to a reaction in which the lungs spasm. This leads to asthmatic symptoms like coughing and wheezing.
During normal breathing, the air we breathe is at first warmed and moistened by the nasal passages. When exercising many people tend to breathe through their mouths, resulting in colder, drier air entering the airways than is typical. The muscle bands around the airways are sensitive to these changes in temperature and humidity and react by contracting, which narrows the airway. This is what leads to the symptoms.
For those individuals suffering from exercise-induced asthma there are treatment options. An albuterol inhaler used 15 to 20 minutes prior to exercise can prevent the asthmatic symptoms. In addition to medications, warming up prior to exercising and cooling down after exercise can help prevent exercise-induced asthma. For those with allergic asthma being selective about when you exercise and avoiding high pollen days or days with low temperatures or high air pollution levels can help avoid exercise-induced asthma.
Consult your physician, if you are experiencing these symptoms and she or he may run some tests to help determine if you're suffering from exercise-induced asthma. For further information visit the Dr. Bob Show online.
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