•  Asthma Center •  Asthma, Sports, and Kids •  Preventing Attacks

Do you wheeze during a workout? Do you cough after a morning jog? If so, don't despair. You could be Olympic material.

Many athletes at all levels, including about 20 percent of US Olympic athletes, have asthma. Even though exercise can trigger an attack, people with asthma don't have to stay on the sidelines. With the right treatment, practically anyone with asthma can compete in any sport -- even at the highest levels.

Of course, you need to take some precautions when you exercise. When a person has asthma, the bronchial passages (tubes that carry air to the lungs) become exceedingly sensitive to their surroundings. Just about anything out of the ordinary -- a little dust, a blast of cold air, a puff of smoke -- can make the tubes suddenly squeeze tight, leaving little room for air to pass through. This is called an asthma attack.

Surprisingly, a good workout can be one of the surest ways to trigger an attack. Just six to eight minutes of strenuous exercise can be enough to cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest. In fact, many people have "exercise-induced asthma," which means they have asthma only when they exercise. Even patients with persistent asthma may notice breathing problems primarily when they work out.

Exercise is supposed to be good for the lungs, so why does it leave so many people wheezing? When we work out, our airways lose both heat and moisture, especially if the air is cold and dry. One of those losses -- or both -- seems to help inflame the bronchial tubes and set the stage for an attack. That explains why a winter jog around the neighborhood is more likely than a run in a warm gym to cause an attack.

Some sports seem tailor-made to set off asthma attacks. Take, for instance, cross-country skiing, ice skating, and ice hockey, all vigorous sports performed in the cold. A recent study found that 55 percent of elite cross-country skiers and 35 percent of figure skaters showed signs of asthma.

Asthma attacks are also common in sports that require intense, continuous effort, such as long-distance running, soccer, and cycling. On the other hand, stop-and-go activities such as baseball, sprinting, and golf rarely cause trouble. Swimming and water polo don't bring on many attacks, either, probably because pools are so humid.

No matter what your sport, asthma doesn't have to slow you down. If you wheeze, cough, or feel tightness in the chest during or after exercise, talk to your doctor. Several prescription medications can prevent exercise-related asthma attacks and keep you in the game.

For many people, the best defense is an inhaler filled with a quick-acting beta agonist bronchodilator such as albuterol or pirbuterol. Taken 15 minutes before exercising, it relaxes the muscles around your airway and helps to keep you breathing freely for up to four hours. If the attacks continue, your doctor may prescribe additional inhaled medications such as cromolyn or nedocromil. If your workouts are extremely long, you might try a long-acting beta agonist bronchodilator -- such as salmeterol -- which can ward off attacks for at least 12 hours. However, the latest government guidelines caution that drugs like salmeterol shouldn’t be used alone for long-term asthma control. And if you are African American you should talk to your doctor about other possible treatment options. A recent study found that salmeterol caused significantly higher incidences of asthma-related events in African Americans, prompting the FDA to issue a safety warning in 2003 followed by its strongest caution, a "Black Box" warning, in 2006.

Whatever medication you may take beforehand, keep an inhaler handy while you exercise. (Keep it within easy reach at all times -- not in the glove compartment of your car.) If you have an attack, a couple puffs of albuterol or a similar medicine can open your airways and restore your breathing capacity.

You may also want to pack a peak-flow meter in your gym bag. This small, handheld device measures the force of your breath. When asthma grips your airways, the reading will drop. If you have a low reading before or during a workout, you'll need extra medication or an exercise break.

A few simple changes in your exercise routine can also help prevent attacks. Before exercising, try warming up by walking, stretching, and briefly running in place. When the workout's over, a little more walking and stretching can help keep your airways from tightening up. If possible, avoid exercising in places with a lot of dust, pollen, animal dander, or air pollutants. Your lungs don't need any extra irritation. And if you're exercising in the cold, wear a scarf or a mask around your mouth and nose area.

Above all, stay active. Asthma or no asthma, exercise is the best health tonic around. You'll feel like a winner -- even if you never make it to the medal stand.

-- Chris Woolston, M.S., is a health and medical writer with a master's degree in biology. He is a contributing editor at Consumer Health Interactive, and was the staff writer at Hippocrates, a magazine for physicians. He has also covered science issues for Time Inc. Health, WebMD, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. His reporting on occupational health earned him an award from the northern California Society of Professional Journalists.

Further Resources

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology

800-822-ASMA http://www.aaaai.org

American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology

800-842-7777 http://allergy.mcg.edu

American Lung Association

800-LUNG USA http://www.lungusa.org

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

800-7-ASTHMA http://www.aafa.org

References

First published January 22, 2001
Last updated December 7, 2007
Copyright © 2001 Consumer Health Interactive

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