Hello everybody,

Dave the Respiratory Therapist here. Couple of suggestions that might help you with winter cycling in the cold:

1. If you have any asthma inhaler at all, use it just about an hour before your ride. This will give the drugs time to come up to full effect and maximize their benefits to you. That said, you are much better if you can take an actual breathing treatment with a nebulizer if you have one. Why? 1. You get salt water humidity and this helps calm the irritation your lungs suffer. 2. Nebulized droplets, if you breath them in slowly, penetrate deeper into your lungs and do a better job. 3. Nebulized treatments are more effective than inhalters, particularly if you use two synergistic drugs such as Albuterol/Atrovent.

2. If you have a anti inflammatory steroid, use it a half an hour or so before your ride. Why? It takes longer for this type drug to to take effect and these drugs are normally packaged with a long term bronchodialator, which also takes longer to take effect. Having these drugs working at their peak efficiency when you are exposed to the irritating cold dry air maximizes their ability to help you prevent an asthmatic reaction.

3. Use some type of face mask that captures the moisture of your exhaled breath and allows you to re-breath some of it, thereby minimizing the effects of the cold dry air by mixing it with some moist, warm air. A knitted neck scarf can do this.

4. Finally, moving to a warmer, moisture climate will help asthmatic conditions. Don't forget asthma is not due to weak lungs, but due to an over active allergy defense system. Preventing that system from getting stirred up in the first place is the key to minimizing it's effects once stirred up.

I hope this helps,

Dave