Exercise Induced Asthma

Exercise induced asthma is defined as a decrease in lung function due to narrowing of the airways in the lungs during exercise. This causes difficulty in breathing as well as a variety of other symptoms. Symptoms usually begin during exercise and may become worse 5-10 minutes after exercise has stopped. The symptoms usually resolve 20-30 minutes post-exercise.

 

Symptoms

• Difficulty breathing

• Wheezing

• Coughing

• Shortness of breath during and after exercise

• Tightness in chest

• Overly fatigued during exercise

• Sore throat

• Plateau in training (unexplainable)

• Decreased performance

• Poor recovery times after exercise

• Overuse injuries from fatigue 

 

Causes

• Inflammation of airways causes narrowing

• Excess mucus production

 

Risk Factors

• Those with regular asthma

• High level athletes

• Exercising in cold-dry air

• Exposure to smoke or fumes

• Air pollution

• Mouth breathing

• Having a recent cold

• High pollen count

• Chlorine in swimming pools (or other chemicals)

• Extended periods of deep breathing such as in endurance sports

 

Prevention

• Avoid allergy triggers and pollution

• Breath in through the nose instead of the mouth

• Avoid exercising in cold-dry weather or wear a scarf over the nose and mouth during exercise in these conditions

• Taking medications regularly and prior to exercise

• Avoid pools with a lot of chlorine

 

Diagnosis

• Physical exam by physician

• Spirometry test to measure lung function while not exercising to test for regular asthma

• Exercise challenge tests with spirometry readings before, during, and after

• Physician may give you a bronchiodilator (rescue inhaler) to see how you respond to the medication

 

Treatment Options

• Life-style modifications such as exercising regularly and warming up properly before exercise, 

• Breathing in through the nose instead of the mouth or wearing a facemask or scarf over the nose and mouth in cold-dry weather

• Avoiding allergy triggers and pollution

• Switching activity to something with short intermittent periods of exertion (such as baseball/softball, volleyball, or wrestling) while avoiding endurance sports requiring long periods of exertion

• Medications such as: 

  • Short acting beta agonists and ipratopium (pre-exercise and as a rescue inhaler)

  • Inhaled corticosteroids

  • Combination inhalers with corticosteroids and long acting beta agonists

  • Leukotriene modifiers (oral medication)