Asthma and Exercise What is exercise-induced asthma? Most people diagnosed with asthma will experience asthma symptoms when exercising. In addition, about 11 percent of the US population who are not diagnosed with asthma will experience asthma symptoms, but only during exercise, a condition called exercise-induced asthma. Exercise-induced asthma is different from the typical asthma that is triggered by allergens and/or irritants. Some people have both types of asthma, while others only experience exercise-induced asthma. Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory lung disease that leads to asthma spacers cat cough three airway problems: obstruction, inflammation, and hyper-responsiveness. Unfortunately, the basic cause of asthma is still not known. How does exercise cause asthma symptoms? When breathing normally, the air that enters the airways is first warmed and moistened by the nasal passages to prevent injury to the delicate lining of the airways. However, for someone with asthma, the airways may be extremely sensitive to allergens, irritants, infection, weather, and/or exercise. When asthma symptoms begin, the airways' muscles constrict and narrow, the lining of the airways asthma relief cat cough begins to swell, and mucus production may increase. When exercising (especially outside in cold weather), the increased breathing in and breathing out through the mouth may cause the airways to dry and cool, which may irritate them and cause the onset of asthma symptoms. In addition, when breathing through the mouth during exercise, a person will inhale more air-borne particles, including pollen, which can trigger asthma. What are the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma? Exercise-induced asthma is characterized by asthma symptoms such as coughing, cat cough cat cough wheezing, and tightness in the chest within five to 20 minutes after starting to exercise. Exercised-induced asthma can also include symptoms such as unusual fatigue and feeling short-of-breath while exercising. However, exercise should not be avoided because of asthma. In fact, exercise is very beneficial to a person with asthma, improving their airway function by strengthening their breathing muscles. Consult your physician for more information. How can exercise-induced asthma be controlled? Stretching and proper warm-up and cool-down exercises may relieve any chest tightness that occurs asthma supplies cat cough with exercising. In
