Cold weather commutes and asthma
 

Anyone here have cold-induced asthma?

I've been asthmatic for a while and this is the first year I've actually had symptoms.

Funny thing is that I have had to no problems on the coldest days this year, 8 or 9F, but on subsequent days I'll start coughing during or after an 18F commute.

Tomorrow we are down to 1F and I'm thinking about the bus, although that too has some cold air exposure. 15 minutes outdoors for the bus vs 25 by bike commute.

Note: A shot of albuterol before the ride is extremely helpful.

I used to get this. I don't any more. I assume it's conditioning or something.

I have cold induced asthma, and I ride through most of the winter.

I ride with a mask over my mouth to help prewarm the air. I'm good into the mid/low thirties without one, but beyond that I need something to block out the harshness of the cold. Finding the right balance of getting enough airflow to breathe while having enough of a barrier to help warm things up has required a learning curve, but I've been pretty good down into the teens.

I suspect yes, I may suffer from cold induced asthma although it's never been diagnosed and I haven't even consulted a doctor. I ride in all temperatures, down to about 5° F in this area, but I've realized that I'll go all winter rarely if ever going harder than zone 3. It slows me compared to warm weather more than other people, relatively speaking and I think more mucus is generated, coughing episodes when I do have a strong anaerobic effort. Are those your symptoms?

A couple of things I can do to ameliorate it. Warming the air with a scarf or cloth mask, or having a full face mask.

Yeah...a good scarf seems to help and remembering to breath thru my nose. However, there's one hilly spot on my route and seems like I suddenly start to get short of breath. Get off the bike for a minute and then back on and go slowly.

I have exercise/cold induced asthma and this is one of the many reasons I take the bus.

However, I still ride in the winter and this is what I'll do most of the time.

1. You Stop afer the fist 2 miles -- I'll find the asthma really kicks in after the fist two miles. I don't need or use the drugs because that will just race my heart. The first stop takes a 15 minute recovery until the condition subsides.

2. Second stop is after 3 miles --- I find that after the first stop, my body becomes more conditioned to the cold allowing me to travel longer. Every other stop allows me to go a little bit longer. The recover time is also slightly shorter.

Yes - my strategy is to have a few puffs on my albuterol about 15 minutes before setting out, and I use a balaclava that covers my mouth and nose to keep the chill at bay. During the spring and summer, I can get away with only taking my Advair every week or so, but during the winter I have to take it religiously.

ETA: Also, if I get a spasm during exercise, I practise pursed-lip breathing like people with emphysema do. Blowing out through narrow, pursed lips creates back pressure that helps keep alveoli open and secretions at bay. No idea if there's any objective evidence that it helps during broncoconstriction, but it makes me feel better.

No, just the seasonal Common Cold or Flu.. I did feel better pulling a fleece, neck gaiter over my nose ,
on a cold return trip, home.. breathing through it..

That's an idea. Might try that next time I'm running out of breath.

Edit: just had a look on the Internet on this technique. There's a lot of material out there describing it. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, it's something I was trained to coach people in when I was in Paramedic school. After that class, I had an asthma attack and figured "Why the hell not," and whaddaya know, it actually helped.