Breathing Hard or Hardly Breathing?
If after just a few minutes of running you are breathing hard, but aren’t breaking a sweat, you may have exercise-induced asthma, even if you’ve never been diagnosed with the ailment. In fact, 1out of every 10 people exhibit no classic signs of asthma yet still experience its symptoms during exercise.
In a study from Ohio State University Medical Center (Columbus), researchers screened 107 varsity athletes for exercise-induced asthma; 42 (39%) of the athletes tested positive, and 36 of those 42 athletes had no previous history of asthma. These results suggest that a significant number of athletes have unrecognized exercise-induced asthma.
“One important finding of this study is that a history of symptoms with exercise is not enough to make a correct diagnosis,” says Jonathan Parsons, MD, associate director of the Medical Center’s Asthma Center and lead author of the study. “Appropriate testing is critical.”
A separate study in the journal Chest linked exercise induced asthma with diminished sweat and saliva secretion, which further dries asthma sufferers’ airways.
Symptoms of exercise induced asthma include: coughing, wheezing, and tiring after 5 to 15 minutes of exercise. Experts recommend runners warm up and cool down for at least 15 minutes, and avoid running outdoors in extremely cold temperatures.
Take action: If your cardio workout leaves you excessively breathless, talk to your doctor.
