Getting asthma is not your "get out of exercise" card for the rest of your life. On the contrary, not exercising can make your asthma much worse – as well as all of the other parts of your body.
You can do a moderate amount of any exercise you choose – except for scuba diving. Part of managing your asthma is being able to recognize exercise induced asthma symptoms.
Take A Breath
Exercise induced asthma symptoms often happen not during exercise, but immediately afterwards. You often feel tightness in the chest, completely out of breath and have to wheeze and gasp to get your air.
This is especially true when you exercise in biting cold air. Try to avoid that whenever possible if you have a history of exercise induced asthma symptoms.
Recovery time is usually quick, unless you don't know what to do or don’t have your inhaler with you. When all else fails and you begin having exercise induced asthma symptoms, call an ambulance or ask to borrow someone's inhaler.
This writer has seen asthma patients recover from breathing into a paper bag, but I can't recommend that with any confidence.
No Inhaler – No Exercise
This writer once had a boyfriend who had asthma so bad, he had to always have his inhaler in his pocket or within reach as his exercise induced asthma treatment.
His trigger usually was diesel fumes, although he also experienced exercise induced asthma symptoms. When he could avoid diesel fumes, he could lead a fairly normal life, including exercising.
But you can't always avoid diesel or gas fumes. He could not tell anyone if he was having an attack or having exercise induced asthma symptoms. He wheezed so badly that talking or standing up was impossible. He needed help immediately. So, if he didn’t have an inhaler with him, he didn't go anywhere.
Other Tips
Prevention is usually considered the best way of avoiding exercise induced asthma symptoms – without avoiding exercise altogether.
Don’t exercise when you feel sick. Have a warm up period of at least ten minutes before exercising. If you walk or cycle along roads, avoid times when the traffic is heaviest. You also should have a cool down of another ten minutes afterwards.
And be sure to get regular check ups with your doctor to oversee your asthma management and check up on your medications. You could always ask your doctor for more tips about your particular situation.
