Road Cycling - Exertional Asthma

Anybody experience it?

I do, but it is very very minor. It actually only surfaces post ride. Symptoms are a general shallowness in the depth of my breathing (if I breathe too deeply...I cough). Its not that bad, but it comes around about every 2-3 times I ride. A friend's mom (who is a nurse) helped me diagnose. She has a triathalete daughter who has been having the same problem. She says it can be the result of poor air quality. :(

How are you guys coping? I've heard you can get a perscription of Zyrtec to combat this...

I just dont want it to get worse.

Thanks,

Colin

I read an article recently about 'Excersize Induced Asthma'. Apparently it's more common when it's very cold.

I have experienced it a bit and wondered what was going on. I don't have enough of a problem with it to use medication.

I've had exercise and cold induced Asthma for 61 years. Get a doctor to diagnose it. If you do have it, you have a very mild case. The best medication out there with no side affects is Serevent. I can do what I want with that stuff with no problem as long as the temperature is above roughly 40 degrees. Below 40 it gets hard to breath.

It could also be sinus drainage induced. The solution for that is a good anti histamine like Claritin. It's now available over the counter and the generic version is cheap. It does not make you drowsy like the old formulations.

Al

I've had exercise and cold induced Asthma for 61 years. Get a doctor to diagnose it. If you do have it, you have a very mild case. The best medication out there with no side affects is Serevent. I can do what I want with that stuff with no problem as long as the temperature is above roughly 40 degrees. Below 40 it gets hard to breath.

It could also be sinus drainage induced. The solution for that is a good anti histamine like Claritin. It's now available over the counter and the generic version is cheap. It does not make you drowsy like the old formulations.

Al
http://www.bikeforums.net/search.php?searchid=340531

Yeah, see your doctor before treating. Don't use someone else's prescriptions. If that's what it is, it's easy to manage.

I have it, although it has become less common the better shape I get into. Its a combination of cold and exercise. The colder it is the less I have to work out to get coughing fits. They only happen post ride but they've left me on my back coughing for hours. Its only an issue when the temperature goes below 15 degrees celsius. It can become worse around poor air quality too.

When it gets colder than 10C I try to keep my throat wrapped up as that warmth seems to make a difference.

I forget the brand name off hand but my doctor gave me this purple wheel which has powder doses in it. Works amazingly well, but I do try to limit my usage. He also gave me a different gas inhaler to try which I found has no effect.

Hmm...well. I know what I am experiencing lately isnt from low temperatures...but I think yesterday might have been agitated by the fact that I am at the tail end of a summer cold. I'm at about 90% right now, but not completely over it.

I think I'll just see if I just get in better shape, maybe the EA will leave me. If not, I'll go visit a doc.

Thanks guys.

I've had it from a combination of cold and/or dry air as well as exertion. But once I get it, I've got it for the day. The worst was at mile 75 of a century... I had to slow my pace and breath shallow or go into a coughing fit.

When it's cold out, I'll wear something over my mouth to trap in moisture and warmth. I've not seen a doctor, probably should.

I read an article recently about 'Excersize Induced Asthma'. Apparently it's more common when it's very cold.

I have experienced it a bit and wondered what was going on. I don't have enough of a problem with it to use medication.

While that might be true, you can get symptomatic relief with a puff of a beta-agonist like Albuterol. It's cheap and very effective. You may not realize it, but the Asthma may be restricting your breating even when you don't feel it affecting you. Untreated, it can cause lung damage long term. Of course the first thing to do is get a doctor to make sure that you have Asthma.

Al

I thought I had the same thing, well actually I thought I had exercise induced asthma. Mine always hit about 3 hours into a ride, sometimes not til 4 hours. I had it hit in cold weather, and hot weather, but mostly hot weather, and usually when I was riding hard. I went to my doctor who first had me go get my heart checked out with a cardiologist. Had to do some tests and a stress test, which all came back fine. Then she sent me to a pulmonologist (who also was a cyclists). The pulmonologist didn't want to do a bunch of 3 thousand dollar test so she just gave me a few prescription drugs to try. One was something I had to take everyday. That didn't work, plus it really hit me performance-wise on the bike, so after a month I quit taking it. The other was a pill that you took via an inhaler that punctured the pill and you just breathed in the really fine powder. That worked ok, but on rare occasions, I would still get that burning feeling deep in the bottom of my lungs. That was my main symptom... a burning/pinching feeling in the bottom of my lungs that make it hurt to breath too deeply... and sometimes made me cough, but not often.

She gave me a full prescription for that second drug and said I should take it before my long rides. But she then said she didn't think it was exercise induced asthma. She thought it was a problem with acid reflux. I take a prescription for acid reflux and I have a hiatal hernia (stomach doesnt' close all the way). She thinks that since I have to eat and drink during my long rides and I'm probably hot (especially when it's hot outside) due to the exercise that I'm just producing more acid reflux than my prescription can handle. She thinks I am probably getting it so bad that it's getting into my lungs and sinking to the bottom. She said more than 50% of sufferers never feel any heartburn or burning in their esphogus... and I don't either. She thinks I should just get a good over the counter anti-acid and bring it with me on my rides... or get one that you can take before eating and take it before my rides.

She also suffered from acid reflux and had the surgery to correct it (which she urged me to get) so I think she knows what she's talking about. It kinda makes sense to me.

Since then, I've changed what I eat while I ride. I think either the gel I was taking or the sports drink I was using was causing some bad acid reflux. I've started trying new bars, gels and sports drinks and I think I've found a better combination. I've only had lung pain once this year. I haven't had to take the prescription she gave me or use antiacids at all.

So, just another possibility you can look into.

They've been prescribing Flonase for this up here, but you have to get checked.

Another factor in this may be mild dehydration. How much water are you drinking during your rides? If you have even a slight case of exercise induced asthma, dry air and mouth breathing during the ride could dry you out. That could lead to bronchospasm. Try pushing some extra fluids and see if that helps. (It's cheaper than any meds and can't hurt even if it doesn't help.)

Just to use myself as an example... I rode the Markleeville Death Ride a few years ago. On the way home I had to stop at the local hospital and get an inhaler because I was wheezing so badly. I ended up having to use it for 3 days. That year the Ride was extremely hot, and it had taken me 11 hours to do it. I think the wheezing was in great part due to my dehydration.

You won't know the seriousness of your problem until you get checked out by a MD, preferrably a pulmonologist. Yes, you might have EIA or asthma or GERD, who knows for sure, but the best approach is to see a doc and have a Pulmonary Function test. This will serve to uncover any significant breathing problem you may be having. If the problem is asthma or EIA then a good med such as ADVAIR (I use this) can be used. Mind you, asthma is not something that you treat on occasion. It is a disease that you manage on a day to day basis. EIA on the other hand can be managed by using either bronchodilators or steriod inhaled meds approx 1 hour prior to exercise. Classic symptoms of asthma or EIA are tightness in the chest. wheezing, cough, shortness of breath, generalized chest discomfort. Good luck and get yourself checked out.