Occasionally asthma attack happen only during, or shortly after,
exercise.
Initially, doctors thought this was a different form of asthma,
an entirely different form, but it is now known that it is
common for people with asthma to have asthma attacks during
exercise.
These people do have asthma that is triggered by the exercising,
however the asthma is not caused by exercising.
In other words, the asthma existed in the person BEFORE the
exercise, however it is a mild case of asthma, which is brought
out by the heavier, faster breathing brought on by exercise.
Doctors used to puzzle about why children got exercise-induced
asthma much more than adults.
Research into this revealed the simple truth that the majority
of adults don't exercise or play as children do.
Increased breathing during exercise causes cooling and drying of
the lining of the air passages, which can trigger
exercise-induced asthma.
This explains why warm moist air protects against
exercise-induced asthma and why swimming is better exercise for
an asthmatic than running, or biking.
Exercise-induced asthma can be useful for asthma research and
diagnosing asthma in children.
It can be used for testing the effectiveness of new medicines
that may help treat asthma in the future.
With exercise of six minutes a child is often breathing hard
enough and fast enough to bring on a "mild" asthma. "This is
very safe" and this has brought on early and appropriate advice
and treatment for many asthmatics.
It can cause athletes a particular problem which is why some
cross-country skiers wear breathing masks which store some body
heat and moisture from the air they breathe out and return it to
the air they breathe in.
Swimmers are fortunate in that, especially with indoor pools,
the air surrounding them is moist and warm.
However it is also common that asthmatic professional athletes
must be careful with their medications as it may lead to
disqualification.
However, all the ordinary asthma medicines and treatments, used
for management, are acceptable to sporting bodies.
About the author:
Learn More About How You Can Treat and Live with Asthma at
Asthma-Explained.com
