So what commuters here have Asthma?
 

How many commuters here have asthma? I have had it since I was born (blamed on my mom for smoking when she was pregnant with me).

How bad is your asthma and how do you cope with it for commuting? Every winter season I stop riding and when I get back on my bike in Spring, I have to sort of re-train myself to ride again. I notice now that it's getting cold, I am going through another re-training to get my endurance back up.

The hardest part for me is when I get going and my throat starts closing up, it feels like someone is choking me. This is caused by my body's overproduction of mucus because at this point I am breathing by mouth (a mistake).

Are you forced to ride a specific bike because of it? I always pick my road bike over my mountain bike due to it's low weight and lower resistance. I ride my mountain bike when I can to get myself trained for when it starts snowing.

I have fairly light exercise-induced asthma. Generally kicks in if I do something dumb like sprints before warming up. Generally worse in cold weather.

If yours is also worse in the cold - like many people's asthma - you might benefit from a balaclava if you're not already using one. I saw a well-done study (can't remember where or I'd cite it) that showed that it's not cold weather that inflames asthma - it's the dry air that generally associates with cold weather. Using a balaclava traps a layer of moist, warm air near your nose/mouth, which should help a lot.

Good luck!

I have it exercise induced asthma as well. It sprouted about a year ago while running in colder temperatures. I have an inhaler that works for about an hour so I don't bother with it anymore. In fact, I forget that I have it. I agree, the warmer you keep your body, the easier it will be to ride.

I have an inhaler for when I ride during hot high ozone days. My airways constrict pretty bad.
During cold weather season I rarely have issues.

It's important to see a qualified doctor to get your asthma diagnosed properly. Treatments vary based on lots of factors, including whether or not your non-exercise lung function is normal.

I thought I had exercise induced asthma for a long time, but when I finally saw a doctor about it, they tested me at rest before and after treatment and determined that my lung function was almost 10% less than it should be. I'm now on a daily treatment and it has made a big difference in my biking, as well as just my life in general.

Exercise-induced asthma, and very bad sinus allergies. I use a neti-pot twice a week; I'd use it more, but my referring to it as the "home waterboarding kit" probably tells you why I don't. It's effective, but I just can't get used to the feeling of it. Anyhow....
Chemically, I'm using Nasonex and Astepro twice a day to dry up the running sinuses. I take a single puff from my Ventolin before any ride, and I carry it with me in case I need it.
For very long rides (5+ hours) I'll take a 10mg ephedrine (no guiafenesin) before the ride, and one more every 5 or so hours if needed to keep things opened so I can breathe.

I've had pretty bad asthma since ~age 8 or 10 (>30 yrs). Mostly allergy and temp/humidity shock related, not exercise at all per se. So I wrap a scarf around my lower face, very loosely, when biking in the 20s, for instance, to give the air a little time to warm up and moisten up before it gets inside me.

I think it's all about knowing yourself and your asthma, and I've definitely had time to ponder it, work around every permutation of treatment, avoidance, etc...

I have mild asthma. I needed an inhaler when I was less aware of how to manage my asthma.

The following things work for me:

1. Use "natural" cleaners 99% of the time: soaps, shampoo, household cleaners, laundry detergents.*
2. Make sure clothing and living spaces are fairly clear of allergens : try to avoid spaces with mold inside the walls or large amounts of dust. Wash clothes and sheet more often if allergies are a problem.
3. Avoid excessive stress and enjoy life.
4. Do not use scented deodorant/antiperspirant.
5. When possible, stay away from people who wear perfume/cologne.
6. Don't do sprinting or similar cardiovascular exercise without doing gradual, long term training for it. DO exercise often.

*I avoid mineral oil. Oil is in soaps/detergents, and mineral oil is the norm because it's cheap. Mineral oil is also used in antacid tablets and gummy candies. It's made from petroleum.

I have asthma, fortunately very mild. It seems to be triggered by breathing cold air (as well as by my food allergies), especially if I breathe through my mouth. In cooler weather I wrap a scarf around my lower face and try to breathe only through my nose, which is covered by the scarf. We don't have real winter in this area though, so I'm not sure how well that would work if it got really cold.

Apparently I seem to be the opposite of everyone. Yay me!

I also have what is now fairly mild Asthma, mostly exercise induced. I get airway constriction much more when sick, during allergy season, and it seems to come easier when cold as well. This morning on my last climb I got constriction in my airway again right before the top, I knew I should have eased back a bit but decided to push it anyway.

I don't use an inhaler anymore, mostly because I can feel when I need to dial back the exhertion level. When running I don't have a feel for it as well, though. Last time I went running I was pushing harder than normal and at about 3/4 mile left my airway started to tighten and I slowed and had to walk for about 10 minutes while trying to stay calm. I hadn't gotten it that bad in years. I also hadn't thought about carrying an inhaler for years until that point.

Asthma can be dangerous, I don't let myself get into situations where I know I could get an Asthma attack because it kind of freaks me out. We get temperature inversions here in the winter, where all the pollutants are trapped in the valley by the mountains. When that gets bad I just don't ride.

nope. sorry, not quite unique. I have exercise, smoke (cigarettes, not campfire), and other allergen-induced asthma. Cold temperatures seems to really help it, as long as I keep my core warm, I can breath cold air all the time and it doesn't affect me. But if it's too hot, say over 80, I can't run, but I can keep up biking somewhat. I don't exert in really cold temperatures, though, because it still does damage to your lungs (inflammation) that can badly affect your breathing down the road. (no pun intended)

I have an inhaler that I use before working out, and sometimes I carry it biking, but when I'm out there and get really warmed up it doesn't seem to be as much of an issue.

i do, but very minor, unless im pushing myself really really hard, on my bike, or general exercise, i dont really have a problem, but i do carry my emergency inhaler just in case...you never know

No asthma here, but I have interstitial lung disease and ride with supplemental oxygen bottles rigged to the bike. Doesn't interfere overmuch with a 39 mi rt commute.

I have exercise induced asthma... Usually get bad attacks when I do dumb things like sprint and race cars or other cyclists and don't pay attention to my breathing. If I pay attention to the way I breathe I can normally avoid symptoms altogether. Cold weather tends to make it a little worse... especially if I let myself work to hard and don't control my breathing.

I generally have 2-3 bad attacks a year... I have an inhaler, but generally forget to carry it.

I have severe asthma, but feel exercise helps me control it. Like you I am a mouth-breather when I exercise, I just can't get enough air in through my nose. However, I am on Symbicort for my control inhaler, and what a difference it makes. It works much better than anything I have ever used. I still get the throat burning and tightening in the winter though. I agree it does suck, but I just power through it and eventually I can handle it. It is certainly an uncomfortable feeling though.

Fortunately, my exercise-induced asthma is very mild, and only shows up when something that I'm allergic to is in-the-air, or when I really push my heart rate into the red zone for more than a minute or so. I don't get airway constriction or other swelling, though. My allergies don't bother my nose as much as they do my eyes and upper respiratory tract (mostly throat and windpipe area, with some in the lungs when mold/pollen counts are really high).

I just cough a few times over about a half-hour following exercise to clear my throat, and it is over. Especially during flu season, I get some apprehensive looks following my commute to work some days. It clears-up within a few minutes, though, with no lasting effects on my throat or lung tissue. Yep, I'm lucky.

Relatively mild case, not strictly exercise induced, but definitely exercise exacerbated. Sometimes I can get away with riding sans inhaler, but I usually end up dragging my bike into the house half blind from oxygen deprivation when I do that.

i have mild asthma but even if i did have a rather severe attack, my inhaler would take care of it. i'd definitely try to fgure out how you can manage it. there are plenty of world class athletes with asthma.

Yeah man, what he said. Balaclava helped me during colder spells.

Another thing to consider is reducing or eliminating dairy from your diet. This was suggested to me by a new doctor I started to see after moving.

I was diagnosed with asthma around 8 years old and have dealt with it my entire life. I was taking a twice daily medication to keep it under control (advair 250 diskus). It was my first summer bike commuting, and I live in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. After the entire summer of riding, I still couldn't "open my lungs" for a good hard ride. At the time I wanted to conduct a full allergy test with the doctor to determine if that were the cause. She said, "let's start with diet." I proceeded to tell her my typical diet to which she replied, "let's start cutting out the dairy products and see what happens."

About a week later I stopped eating dairy (after consuming what was in my fridge in my typical routine). 3 days later I had the best commute (up to that point anyway) ever. It was a "free and clear" lungs ride. I avoid dairy at every opportunity now and no longer take advair. I have had one 'attack' in the past year, but I always ride with an albuterol (sp?) inhaler so it was a non-issue.

I'm not suggesting this will work for everyone, but it worked for me. Dairy increases mucous production, which in turn affected my asthma significantly. It is life-changing to eliminate dairy as it is in everything, but bike commuting is pretty life-changing also. :)

Lastly, this is my first post on the board. I've been lurking for almost two years now (I typically don't have anything to add to posts). I felt my experience might benefit someone here.

~Raybies
p.s. I'm currently a 'driver' as I broke my foot in a freak bounce-house accident with my 20month old a couple weeks ago. This blows. I don't know how I drove for so long. heh

I think I would rather live with my asthma than stop drinking milk. I can live without riding, but I think I would die without white gold.